Children's home run by New Start in Sefton

Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 1 SC409738 Registered provider: New Start Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for four young people. The primary purpose of the home is to offer supportive and individualised care packages for young people with complex behaviours which restrict their opportunities and have a negative impact on their development.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in January 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, there have been significant staff changes made at the home. The home has a new responsible individual, a new registered manager and several new members of staff. This period of change has had an impact on how well supported some of the young people feel at the home. Some young people do not feel that they have secure and trusting relationships with all the staff team that would enable them to talk about any worries or concerns that they have. However, a young person recently said to the manager about a member of staff, ‘She is amazing. I can’t thank her enough for Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 2 what she has done for me.’

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young people feel safe and protected in the home, and staff demonstrate a good understanding of young people’s needs and their individual risks. New risk assessments have been developed for the young people that clearly demonstrate their individual risks, the strategies to manage the risks and the reduction in risks for each young person.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager and staff prioritise the education needs of young people. Should young people move into the home when they are not engaged in education, the manager and staff liaise with education professionals to make sure that suitable education arrangements are put in place as soon as possible. One young person who is not engaging as well as previously in education is encouraged to take education seriously, and staff have supported her to identify a college course for when she leaves formal education. Consequently, the encouragement and support young people receive help to improve their future life chances.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The health and development needs of young people are met well. Placement plans outline health needs and the ways in which these are being met. Routine and specialist health appointments are attended as necessary. The company’s psychotherapist regularly consults with young people and staff to better understand young people’s needs and to ensure that they receive the most effective therapeutic interventions and good-quality care.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Behaviour management at the home has strengthened since the last inspection. The manager and staff focus on and promote the positive behaviour of young people and have a restorative approach to managing negative behaviour. Consequently, relationships between the young people have improved, and there has been a reduction in the number of incidents at the home.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager and deputy manager closely monitor practice in the home to ensure that young people receive appropriate responses from staff and benefit from high-quality care. Poor performance is managed well, and staff are supported to improve practice through performance improvement plans which are monitored regularly. The company was experiencing some difficulties with the independent monitoring visits not being completed each month. Furthermore, the manager did not feel a robust assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the young people was being made. Therefore, a new independent person has been identified to undertake the monthly monitoring visits.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager is aware that the majority of the staff team are new to the home and that this has had an impact on the young people. The manager feels the he was very selective when recruiting new staff recently to make sure that the most suitable staff were appointed. He feels that each member of staff has their individual strengths, such as being very nurturing or experienced in working with young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The manager plans to arrange team building days with the staff and young people to help to build relationships and strengthen team working. Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 3 Recording systems at the home are an area that is currently being developed. While there are improvements in the quality of some records, such as risk assessments and placement plans, the manager accepts that some other records need to improve. For example, some missing from home records do not clearly show when young people have

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

returned home and do not include the manager’s overview.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/06/2018 Full Good 15/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recommendations

 Where positive relationships exist between children and staff this should be respected and maintained as far as possible when making any decisions to alter staffing arrangements. The registered person should respond to children’s views about changes to staff and be aware of the potential impact this may have for the child’s stability and emotional well-being. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.12)  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,

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Recommendations

paragraph 14.4) Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 4

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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 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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Job Bank, 4 Tunnel Road, Liverpool L7 6QD

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Inspector

Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 5 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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