Children's home run by Crossway Services Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report children’s home: SC064573 1 SC064573 Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager is suitably qualified and experienced and was registered with Ofsted in May 2016.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC064573 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/06/2017 Full Good 22/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 14/09/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC064573 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that all young people’s case records are kept up to date. Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. 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 14.3 & 14.4)  Under regulation 46 the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The information set out in the statement of purpose is an essential part of the

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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)  Ensure that the independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, and paragraph 15.5)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of care provided by the staff is very nurturing, responsive and focused on the needs of the young person and improving outcomes for him. The registered manager and staff know the young person very well. Consequently, the young person has a positive experience and makes good progress living at the home. The young person has developed strong and meaningful attachments with the registered manager and the staff team who are committed to providing him with the best possible care. The views, wishes and feelings of the young person are an integral feature of the home’s functioning. This results in the young person feeling ‘at home’ in a warm and welcoming environment in which he thrives. The young person benefits from good routines that support his regular attendance and engagement in education. Furthermore, good levels of communication and positive professional relationships between the home and school staff contribute to the young

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

person’s improved outcomes in education. The young person is making good progress in Inspection report children’s home: SC064573 4 education and is meeting his targets well. An education professional said, ‘I can’t speak highly enough about the manager and staff, they are very supportive, and this has helped the young person to achieve so much in school. He is on the school council and is an ambassador for the school.’ Staff advocate and support the young person well to maintain a strong sense of identity. Contact with family members is promoted and managed in a way that meets the young person’s best interests. The young person’s family members are invited and supported to engage in social and recreational activities with him and staff. As a result, the young person can maintain links and develop relationships with those who are significant to him. Staff monitor the young person’s health and provide the necessary support to ensure

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

that routine appointments and checks are up to date. The young person is encouraged to try a variety of different foods to ensure that he has a healthy, varied and well- balanced diet. The young person also engages in regular exercise which includes being a member of a local football team.

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

The young person feels safe at the home and he is confident that he can talk to staff if he has any concerns or worries. The young person benefits from high levels of support and supervision provided by a staff team that is trained in all aspects of safeguarding. Staff present as knowledgeable and confident in implementing the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures and take a highly proactive approach to ensure the young person’s safety. The young person has detailed and effective risk assessments that demonstrate the reduction in risk that has occurred over time. Strategies are in place to manage and reduce the risks the young person faces, while still encouraging him to take age- appropriate risks to increase his independence and ability to keep himself safe. The staff’s thorough safeguarding practice has meant that there have been no incidents of the young person being missing from the home. Neither has there been

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

any need to use physical intervention or to implement room searches. Furthermore, clear strategies are in place to ensure that the young person is safeguarded from the risks associated with the internet. The young person and staff are clear on the expectations for behaviour and this is demonstrated in the young person’s behaviour management plan. Consequently, the young person presents with extremely positive behaviour for which he is rewarded. There have been no incidents since the last inspection that have required a negative consequence. This contributes to the home being a settled and safe environment. The home’s location review lacks sufficient up-to-date information about the risks in the community. The manager has not liaised with all relevant professionals to gather information to enable her to undertake a thorough assessment of the home’s location. This lack of liaison does not demonstrate that all risks in the community have been

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

adequately identified and that there are sufficient strategies in place to manage the risks that will help to keep the young person safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC064573 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager leads a consistent staff team that has high aspirations for the young person and a good understanding of his needs. Staff are motivated to provide a good quality of care and improve outcomes for the young person. The registered manager and deputy manager provide support at all times and are very relaxed and approachable. The registered manager and staff work collaboratively with other professionals and family members to ensure that the young person receives the best possible care and intervention. The manager and staff effectively challenge other professionals when they feel that they are not doing their absolute best for the young person. This constructive challenge helps to ensure that outcomes are improved for the young person. Staff morale is strong, and the staff feel very well supported by the registered manager and their colleagues. Staff benefit from regular supervision that allows them to reflect on

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

their practice and the needs of the young person. The continuous professional development of staff is promoted, and staff are provided with opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skills during supervision and team meetings and through regular training. The registered manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Measures are in place to improve the quality of case records, as some are unclear and do not reflect the work that is undertaken with the young person or the progress that he has made. The home’s statement of purpose is regularly updated to reflect changes and is sent to Ofsted in line with regulation. However, the statement of purpose includes some minor errors in information. This is an oversight and the manager is planning to update the statement of purpose following the inspection. Independent monitoring of the home needs strengthening. Independent monitoring

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

reports do not always provide sufficient detail to demonstrate that the independent person has completed a rigorous assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the young person’s welfare. Furthermore, independent monitoring fails to regularly include consultation with the young person and other key stakeholders. This shortfall compromises Ofsted’s ability to gain sufficient oversight of the service and does not offer sufficient constructive challenge to assist the home to continually improve.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC064573 6 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: SC064573 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rouse House, 2 Wyther Lane, Leeds LS5 3BT

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Inspector

Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC064573 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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