Children's Home run by Building Bridges Care Homes Ltd in St Helens

Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 1 Registered provider: Building Bridges Care Homes 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 one of several owned by a private company. The home provides care and support for up to four children or young people who are not able to live at home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 8 February 2017.

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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: 30 January 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/08/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 3

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Recommendations

 The home must make available suitable facilities, equipment and resources for learning and ensure that the home’s routines do not form barriers to young people wishing to use the home’s resources for study. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.18)  The registered person should only accept placements for young people where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the young person’s assessed needs as recorded in the young person’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of young people. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.4)  Ensure that the records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Information about the children must always be recorded in a way that

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Recommendations

will be helpful to the child should they access their information now or in the future. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraphs 14.4 and 14.5) In particular, ensure that the records tell the story of a young person’s time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of the needs of each young person living at the home. As a result, young people are provided with good levels of care and support. This helps to improve their overall experience and progress. A social worker said, ‘Staff genuinely care for the young people and it shines through from her [the young person]. She knows that they care about her.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff continually encourage and support young people with their education, training or employment. Young people in formal education have good attendance and continue to make good progress. Feedback from one school confirmed that the home’s staff worked constructively with it to successfully support a young person to return to school, where he is now doing well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When young people cannot attend school the home’s staff work with other professionals, such as social workers, to make sure that they can return as soon as is practical. In the meantime, arrangements are made for young people to receive support from a home tutor. However, the home environment is not currently conducive to learning because the education room is used as a storage space. Therefore, the young person is having to work at the kitchen table and there are many distractions. Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 4 The manager and staff promote good health and well-being for the young people. Young people attend routine health and development appointments, such as dentist and optician, to ensure that their health needs are met. The manager and staff help and encourage young people to eat healthily and to adopt a healthy and active lifestyle. Healthcare plans demonstrate that the manager and staff have a good understanding of

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

the individual health and development needs of young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions in and out of the home are managed appropriately. The registered manager carefully reviews the information available before offering a place to a new young person. However, the outcome of this review is not captured effectively in the impact risk assessment documents. This fails to show that the potential impact on other young people living in the home has been sufficiently thought through.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff advocate for young people and support them well to maintain a strong sense of identity. Keeping in touch with family members is promoted and supported in a way that meets the young people’s best interests. As a result, young people maintain links and build on relationships with those who are significant to them. Relationships between the staff and family members are good.

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

Young people feel safe and are kept safe from harm. Young people know that they can talk to staff if they have any concerns or worries and are confident that they would be listened to and supported. Staff understand their responsibilities in keeping young people safe and know how to do this. Safeguarding policies and procedures and detailed risk assessments are understood and implemented well by the staff.

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

Safeguarding incidents at the home are few and far between. Rewards and incentives and positive behaviour management plans help the young people to present with age- appropriate and safe behaviour. Staff understand the context behind young people’s behaviour. This helps staff to intervene effectively to get the right support for the young person, including the involvement of schools and healthcare professionals.

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

There has been a reduction in episodes of young people being missing from home. Staff are more proactive in ensuring that risk assessments are relevant and that the strategies to manage risk are up to date. Staff remain in contact effectively with young people when they are away from the home. Police missing-from-care coordinators are complimentary about the staff and the action they take to support young people.

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

Young people live in a welcoming environment. The home is currently undergoing a refurbishment. Young people said that they have been fully consulted on the new decor in the lounge and are in the process of completing the finishing touches. One young person is extremely proud of her new bedroom. She has carefully selected the wallpaper, flooring and bedding so that they reflect her chosen colour scheme. Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A competent, committed registered manager manages the home. She is supported well by her deputy and team leaders. The registered manager and staff have worked hard to address the issues from the last inspection. Staff have had training about county lines and are much more aware of the risks that young people face. Staff have reflected on the placement of a previous young person and considered the impact this has had on his life experiences and opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Record keeping has significantly improved. The registered manager is more assertive in sourcing information from placing authorities, for example care plans. A social worker said, ‘They [the staff] are fantastic. It is a lovely placement, the communication is brilliant, and they are more than meeting my young person’s needs. If we ask for any changes, the response is immediate.’ Young people are safer because their plans and documentation are current and reflect their needs and the action being taken to support them. Records would benefit from capturing the journey and life history of young people consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring by the registered manager has significantly improved. She has a clear development plan for the home and is fully aware of the strengths of the service and areas for development. A reorganisation of the staff team and additional supervision meetings have enhanced the staff’s confidence and supported the development of the home. Staff said that the last inspection judgment was a ‘wake-up call’ and that they are now seeing the benefits of their work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are productive and have enabled staff to reflect on the past and the progress that they are making. This allows them to revise and update the development plan successfully. Communication between staff members has improved and is contributing well to the positive outcomes young people are making. Staff feel empowered, as they have been consulted on the way forward and now have a real sense of ownership of the home.

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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

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 Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 6 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: 1250035 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Building Bridges Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Mill Farm, Bull Bridge Lane, Liverpool L10 6LZ

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Inspector

Chris Scully, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 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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