Children's Home run by Liverpool City Council in Liverpool

Inspection report children’s home: SC035969 1 SC035969 Registered provider: Liverpool City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides short breaks for up to seven disabled children at any one time.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered since 2013.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC035969 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/05/2017 Full Good 23/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/05/2016 Full Outstanding 02/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC035969 3

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, staff should make sure that each child’s known behaviour is included in their risk assessment and that their plans include details of the steps staff need to take to manage the assessed risk associated with the behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Disabled children enjoy wonderful short breaks that add considerably to the quality of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are highly skilled in supporting disabled children. They provide each child with an incredibly high standard of personalised care that meets children’s complex needs and medical conditions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Each child’s stay is extremely well planned and organised. The manager and staff skilfully and carefully match the children who stay at the same time. A lot of thought goes into making sure that children get on with one another and receive the best possible support, so that they get the most out of their stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff expertly support and encourage every child to express their wishes and feelings and to make choices about how they are supported, who they stay with and how they spend their time. Staff creatively use signs, symbols, photographs and objects of reference, to help children make meaningful choices and let staff know their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The exceptional quality of care and professional practice is contributing to children’s development. Children are making sustained progress in their health and emotional well- being, personal care, social skills, communication, confidence being around other people and development of independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Disabled children get every opportunity to do the same things as other children when they come to this short-break unit. They get the chance to spend time with their friends, do what they enjoy and try new things as an important part of their development. Children take part in a wide range of exciting activities in the community, including going to busy places such as the shops, restaurants, funfairs, swimming and the zoo, and using public transport. These valuable experiences are often things that these children may not be able to do with their families. Inspection report children’s home: SC035969 4 Parents are amazed and delighted about the things that their children get to do. They also find out new things about their children and what they can achieve. This has given parents the confidence to try things at home and to go to places that they know their children like and can manage, such as going to the park to pick up leaves and shopping

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

Children stay in an extremely safe and supportive place. The daily routines and safeguarding arrangements in place protect children from harm and support their emotional well-being. The staff treat children with dignity and always make sure that children’s intimate care needs are met safely and sensitively.

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

Parents are confident about leaving their children at the home because they trust the staff and know that their children receive a very high quality of care.

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

Staff have an in-depth understanding of the vulnerabilities of each disabled child. They continually assess the risks to children’s safety. They take considered and reasonable precautions to make sure that children are protected inside the house and out in the community.

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

Staff are knowledgeable about risks to children’s health associated with their disability and any long-term medical conditions. Staff have the necessary skills and training to respond appropriately to children’s personal care and medical needs. Staff are highly competent in supporting children with epilepsy. When a child has a seizure, staff always follow the agreed treatment plan.

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

Staff understand their responsibilities in protecting children. They are extremely vigilant and always professionally curious. The staff recognise the smallest changes in children’s behaviour, mood or appearance that may indicate that children may be at risk of abuse or neglect. The manager and staff take effective action when they have concerns about a child’s welfare. They work well with parents, social workers and other key professionals to understand the risks to children and to put suitable protective measures in place.

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

The times when children feel upset and may show aggressive or dangerous behaviour are extremely rare. This is because staff know the children incredibly well and engage with them effectively to understand and meet their emotional needs. Staff use exceptionally well-thought-out support plans to create a consistent environment where children feel safe. When children show signs of distress, staff intervene confidently to reassure the child and manage the situation safely.

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

However, one child’s risk assessment and support plan did not include details of all his known behaviour or the steps that staff need to take to manage the risks. Inspection report children’s home: SC035969 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager provides highly effective leadership. He leads an extremely caring, passionate, skilled and cohesive staff team. Together, the manager, seniors staff and the staff team have created an exceptionally positive and aspirational culture that is improving the lives of disabled children. The manager and staff are highly ambitious for disabled children to enjoy every possible opportunity to broaden their experiences and fulfil their potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Extremely well-planned staffing arrangements make sure that there are always enough knowledgeable, experienced, well-trained and qualified staff available to meet the children’s needs. Staff plan children’s activities thoroughly to make sure that they have positive and enjoyable experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and senior staff provide each member of staff with excellent support, guidance and encouragement. Staff use practice-related supervision and team meetings to reflect critically on children’s progress and their professional practice. Staff also have regular opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills through high-quality training that is tailored to meet the needs of disabled children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager, senior staff and the staff team are never complacent and are always looking at ways to improve children’s experiences. The manager uses thorough and evaluative monitoring systems to understand the quality of care that children receive and children’s experiences and outcomes. His meticulous analysis clearly informs the ambitious and dynamic development plan. For example, a newly adapted kitchen has been installed to provide more opportunities for children to bake, cook and learn life skills. The manager and staff have exceptionally strong working relationships with children’s parents, social workers, teachers and health workers. They work together successfully to make sure that the children’s assessed needs are consistently met when they come to stay. Staff have an excellent understanding of children’s education targets and support children in achieving them. For example, they have successfully helped a child to spend

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

less time using technology and to take part in and enjoy physical activities. Staff also play an active role in meetings to review children’s plans and to make sure that the children are getting the right support.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC035969 6 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: SC035969 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Liverpool City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Children’s Services Building, Altcross Road, Croxteth, Liverpool L11 OBS

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Angela D’Annunzio

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Inspector

Nick Veysey, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC035969 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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