Children's Home run by Nugent Care 2019 in Sefton

Inspection report children’s home: SC025395 1 SC025395 Registered provider: Nugent Care 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 managed by a charitable organisation. The home provides care and support for up to 19 children and young people who are no longer able to live at home. The home operates over two houses. One home provides care and support for three children and young people who have a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 1982.

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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: 17 October 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC025395 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/10/2017 Full Good 27/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/08/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC025395 3

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Statutory requirements

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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who–

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to–

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7(1), (2)(a)(iii)) 12/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure–

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(i)) 12/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children–

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. 12/10/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC025395 4 (Regulation 14(1)(a), (2)(b)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that each young person has a transition plan and that court orders are obtained by the home and form part of the care planning. The registered person must ensure that–

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes–

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(iv)(viii)) 12/10/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children and young people, and that the home is a homely, domestic environment. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, ensure that bathrooms and carpets are clean.  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and external monitoring (including under regulation 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents. They are responsible for implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report children’s home: SC025395 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people live in a very caring, nurturing and supportive home where they receive the help that they need to recover from and to develop following traumatic and harmful experiences. Social workers say that their child or young person is flourishing in this homely environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide the stability, warmth and structure that the children and young people need to feel safe. Consequently, children and young people enjoy very positive relationships with the staff. They said that the staff are ‘brill, fantastic, caring and helpful’. Young people are confident to talk any member of staff and know that they will help them to resolve any issues or concerns. For example, some young people raised concerns about an impending court case. As a result, staff were able to plan the best way forward to support the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people say that they feel safe living at this home. They feel safe to talk to staff and other professionals about their past experiences and to receive the support that they need. Staff have an innate understanding of each child and young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff follow generally comprehensive plans that are tailored to each child’s or young person’s needs consistently. However, there was a delay in staff receiving a copy of a young person’s deprivation of liberty order. Due to a lack of challenge by staff, this was received only during the inspection, when it was found to contain incorrect information. This was quickly addressed by staff. The impact of this was minimal, as some plans already described the action necessary to comply with the order.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

An outstanding feature of the home is the commitment of staff to ensure that each child or young person attends full-time education. Morning routines are extremely well organised and ensure that everyone is up, ready and leaving for school on time. Staff are aspirational, and work hard to support the children’s and young people’s educational needs. Several children who have been out of education for two years are now attending school and excelling in their studies. Their progress is clear from the very positive school reports that they have received.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Other children and young people are making steady and sustained progress, resulting in them being able to sit GCSE exams, and are working hard to achieve pleasing results. When children and young people are struggling, staff work with the relevant schools to make sure that the child or young person has the support that they need to help them to do well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are very proud of the children’s and young people’s achievements, especially how hard they have worked to achieve their goals, specifically when overcoming barriers to education. One young person is undertaking a citizenship course over the summer break and is flourishing from this experience. She has secured a part-time job and is looking Inspection report children’s home: SC025395 6 forward to starting sixth form in September.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people enjoy an extensive range of self-chosen activities which include horse riding, rock climbing and bowling. Children and young people are looking forward to their summer holiday in the caravan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions into the home are managed well, and the home has achieved very good results in helping children and young people to move back home or into foster care. Many children and young people continue to keep in touch with the home after they have left. This is testimony to the high levels of care and support that they are provided with. A former resident has befriended a young person in the home and they regularly attend concerts together. This is a very positive relationship for both young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A social worker said that they are impressed with the registered manager, who refused to accept their child until the social worker and the child had had the opportunity to see the home and to meet everyone. Detailed planning meant that the young person has enjoyed a smooth move into the home. The young person said that they felt ‘OK’ about being at the home and that they liked their new room.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

However, a recent move for a young person from the home to their new placement in the community has not gone as smoothly. This is because formal plans and risk assessments were not initiated before the move. As a result, there has been some disruption in the home, and this has had an adverse effect upon the young people. This is currently being resolved by the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s and young people’s health and well-being continue to improve. Staff have an excellent understanding of children’s and young people’s specific health and emotional needs. They ensure that children and young people are healthy and that they always access the medical advice, treatment and psychological support that they need.

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

The registered manager and staff have created an open and transparent culture that protects children and young people from harm. Safeguarding practice is secure. The registered manager responds quickly and sensitively to safeguarding issues, and this helps to keep young people safe. Staff understand good safeguarding practice.

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

Staff understand the children’s and young people’s vulnerabilities. They know that some young people do go missing from the home. One young person has dramatically reversed her episodes of being missing because of the support that she received from staff. The young person said that the staff were there for her and that this is where she wants to be. Social workers said that staff never give up on the children and young people, and are creative in finding ways to work with them.

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

Risk assessments are generally used well to help to minimise risks to children and young people. However, the outcomes are not as robust for one young person regarding self- harm and eating disorders. Inspection report children’s home: SC025395 7 Staff have a clear insight into the reasons behind children’s and young people’s behaviour. They work positively with children and young people to find the best ways for them to express their emotions and moderate their behaviour. Physical intervention is rarely used and only ever as a last resort. However, physical interventions are not accurately recorded, as they do not contain all the correct information, for example a description of the hold used and by whom.

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

Children and young people say that the house rules are fair and are consistently applied. Children and young people say that they are pleased with the rewards system and feel that this is contributing to their improved behaviour. The calm approach by staff also helps them to support children and young people when they are having a difficult time. These approaches are successful because the child or young person is given the time and space to consider their actions and to settle.

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

Children and young people live in a homely environment. Their bedrooms reflect the uniqueness of each child and young person, and are furnished to a good standard. However, the bathrooms and some carpets were not cleaned to the usually high standard. Plans are underway for the refurbishment of the home and development of a meeting room.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is very experienced and suitably qualified. She is a highly effective, calm and inspirational leader who wants every child and young person to reach their full potential. She has created an extremely positive and aspirational culture that is improving the lives of children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a realistic understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Their priority since the last inspection has been to improve the quality of record keeping at the home. Overall, this is progressing well. The registered manager is aware that this remains an area for further development. Children’s and young people’s safety has improved, as fire drills now record who has taken part.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring of the home is not yet good enough. This is because shortfalls in record keeping are not identified within the independent person’s reports. Monitoring by the registered manager is improving, but again lacks rigour when considering the quality of record keeping. This hinders the home’s ability to drive forward continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are qualified and have worked together for some considerable time. They are highly committed and share the ethos of the home effectively with new staff. This provides stability for the children and young people. The staff plan the day-to-day care of children and young people well to ensure that they achieve the best possible outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with good support, guidance and encouragement. They have regular Inspection report children’s home: SC025395 8 opportunities through practice-related supervision and team meetings to reflect on their work and to develop their practice. As a result, plans for children and young people are continually evolving to best meet their diverse and individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have undertaken a range of research projects with the young people. This collaborative work has enhanced the children’s, young people’s and staff’s understanding of topics such as internet safety. Staff said that they felt that this was insightful and enabled them to understand what the children and young people knew and the areas for their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff work effectively with social workers and other professionals. Social workers said that the communication from the home is ‘excellent’, and that staff attend all meetings about the children and young people, even when these are arranged at short notice, and are always prepared. Inspection report children’s home: SC025395 9

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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 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.

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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: SC025395 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 99 Edge Lane, Edge Hill, Liverpool L7 2PE

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Gary Thistlewood

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Inspectors

Chris Scully, social care inspector Pam Nuckley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC025395 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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