Children's home run by Nugent Care 2019 in Liverpool

Inspection report children’s home: SC371267 1 SC371267 Registered provider: Nugent Care

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a voluntary organisation and is registered for up to 36 children and young people between the ages of seven and 19 years, who have a range of special educational needs that require either a residential-only provision or residential and specialist-school provision.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2018.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC371267 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/08/2018 Full Inadequate 05/07/2017 Full Good 01/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/09/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC371267 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on ─ mutual trust and respect;

p.3

Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

p.3

Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

p.3

Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

p.3

Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

p.3

Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

p.3

Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

p.3

Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

p.3

Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

p.3

Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11(1)(2)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii)(xii)(xiii)) 24/01/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. 24/01/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC371267 4 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure ─

p.3

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;

p.4

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

p.4

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.4

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.4

Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

p.4

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

p.4

Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(I)(ii)(iii)(iv)(b)(d)) The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.4

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

p.4

Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on feedback on the 24/01/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC371267 5 experiences of children, including complaints received;

p.4

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(a)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that ─

p.5

Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23(1)(2)(b)(c)) 24/01/2019

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that 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—

p.5

Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

p.5

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)(vii)(viii) 24/01/2019

p.5

Recommendations

 Where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must, in the interim, support the child to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

p.5

improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, young people living at the home have had more positive experiences and made some progress. Managers have prioritised the quality of care provided, and the staff have a clearer understanding of young people’s needs and the Inspection report children’s home: SC371267 6 strategies required to meet their needs effectively.

p.5

improvement to be good

Young people spoken to during the inspection generally spoke positively about the home and the improvement made since the last inspection. However, some young people continue to be concerned about how well the registered manager and staff respond to concerns that they raise. A young person said, ‘I have complained twice and, although staff appeared to listen to me, suitable action was not taken to deal with my complaints.’ I continue to be unhappy living in this house.’

p.6

improvement to be good

All young people living at the home now have an identified education provision. During the inspection, two young people refused to attend education, and staff did not ensure that they were engaged in suitable structured education activities. One of the young people said, ‘I knew if I didn’t go, then I would get to hang out with my mate.’ This does not demonstrate that the young people’s learning and education progress are fully supported and encouraged.

p.6

improvement to be good

Healthcare plans now have appropriate strategies in place to ensure that young people’s health and development needs are met. Young people are up to date with routine checks, such as dental checks. Medical consent is now in place for all young people, and specialist professional medical advice is sought to ensure that young people’s health needs are addressed.

p.6

improvement to be good

Young people’s contact with their family and friends is promoted well at the home. Staff have worked with a young person and his parent to improve their relationship and the quality of the time that they spend together. Consequently, contact progressed from supervised contact to unsupervised and is much more enjoyable for the young person.

p.6

improvement to be good

The home environment has significantly improved since the last inspection. The home is warm and welcoming and is a nurturing environment for young people to live in. Young people’s bedrooms are clean and tidy with suitable storage space, and young people personalise their bedrooms. Furthermore, systems have been implemented to ensure that staff encourage and support young people to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy. Staff undertake daily bedroom checks to ensure that the improved standards are maintained.

p.6

improvement to be good

The leaders and managers have prioritised improvements in the safeguarding practice at the home. However, a member of staff failed to follow safeguarding procedures when a significant safeguarding concern was brought to her attention. This potentially placed a young person at risk of harm. When the registered manager became aware of this safeguarding failing, she took suitable action to address it and ensure that the young person was appropriately protected.

p.6

improvement to be good

Risk assessments have been reviewed and updated to include details of the individual risks to young people and the strategies to manage and reduce risks. Consequently, risks Inspection report children’s home: SC371267 7 have reduced for young people. There have been no incidents of children being missing from the home since the last inspection.

p.6

improvement to be good

The arrangements for administering and recording young people’s medication has developed, and there has been enhanced scrutiny from managers. However, the quality assurance of records has failed to identify an error in the recording of the medication administered to one young person. Thus, the enhanced systems are not fully effective and fail to ensure that the administration and recording of children’s medication is safe.

p.7

improvement to be good

Records of physical intervention now provide clearer information about incidents and demonstrate that the registered manager has oversight of them. Thus, the registered manager is able to identify and address shortfalls and unsafe practice. However, there continues to be confusion about whether and how injuries were sustained during interventions and whether appropriate medical treatment is sought. For example, one record of physical intervention stated that a young person complained of a sore leg following the intervention, yet the record stated that he had no injuries. Another record stated that the young person did not sustain any injuries, yet he was offered first aid.

p.7

improvement to be good

Since the last full inspection, there has been an emphasis on proactively managing young people’s behaviour by promoting positive behaviour with incentives and rewards. However, behaviour management at the home is not always fair and effective. For example, one young person did not dispose of sweet wrappers in his bedroom appropriately, so there is a consequence for all of the young people in the house to no longer take sweets to their bedrooms. Two young people have made complaints about another young person’s behaviour in the home. In response to this, the young people were encouraged to spend time out of the home away from each other rather than the concerns about a young person’s behaviour being managed appropriately.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The leaders and managers of the home have implemented an improvement plan since the last full inspection, which has resulted in improvements. Action has been taken to address the requirements made at the last inspection. However, the systems in place to address the shortfalls are not yet fully embedded. The registered manager acknowledges that further improvement is required, and she has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, the registered manager is confident that they are on an improvement journey, and the improved systems need to be fully embedded and sustained.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is a strong focus on quality assurance at the home to ensure that young people are provided with a good quality of care. Management oversight and monitoring of the home have improved. The independent monitoring of the home does not include regular consultation with stakeholders to provide a rigorous assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the young people. Consequently, monitoring and review systems at the home are not yet robust and need to be strengthened further. Inspection report children’s home: SC371267 8 The registered manager has oversight of all complaints made by young people and gives a written response to them when complaints are dealt with. However, complaint records do not provide clear information as to what action was taken in response to the complaint. Furthermore, young people do not always feel that complaints are suitably dealt with.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager recognises that although there has been some improvement in the frequency and quality of staff supervision further improvement work is required. A workshop has been arranged with care managers to help them to improve the frequency of supervision and consider how supervision sessions can allow staff to be more reflective about practice and consider the needs of the young people.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff spoken to during the inspection spoke positively about the improvements made. One member of staff said, ‘Things had slipped at the home. The inadequate judgement has had a positive impact. There has been a big effort from management to improve things, such as recording and quality assurance systems and improvements in the home environment.’

p.8

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.

p.8

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: SC371267 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

p.9

Children’s home details

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

p.9

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Gary Thistlewood

p.9

Inspector

Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Elaine Allison, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC371267 10 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.9

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 http://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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10