Children's Home run by Continuum Support - Care Services Limited in Knowsley

Inspection report children’s home: SC473375 1 SC473375 Registered provider: Continuum Support Care 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

A private company owns and manages this children’s home. It provides care and accommodation for up to two young people who can no longer live at home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in June 2019 and an interim manager oversaw the home. A new manager has been appointed and has applied to be the registered manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 15 January 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC473375 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/01/2019 Full Good 07/11/2017 Full Good 12/01/2017 Interim Not judged 08/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC473375 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(iii)(iv)(v)) 20/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

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; 20/12/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC473375 4 understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour, and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(iv)(v)(ix)) 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

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(v)(vi)(vii)) 20/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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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

ensure that the staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(f)(h)) 20/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 20/12/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC473375 5 there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(e)) The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year, taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46(1)(2)) 20/12/2019

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the staff are 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 young people in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about young people should always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to them now and 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 home’s records for each young person represent a significant contribution to their life history.  Ensure that the registered manager seeks independent scrutiny of the home and makes best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulation 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page

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improvement to be good

Staff build positive and trusting relationships with young people. Young people said that they are happy and settled in the home. Since the last inspection, two young people have moved out of the home in a planned and well-coordinated way.

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improvement to be good

Young people receive individual support from staff that generally meets their needs. Young people are now much more aware of their sexual health and where to seek advice and support. One young person took positive steps to stop smoking and managed this for a short period of time. Unfortunately, they have started smoking again, and staff have not been as proactive this time in helping them to stop.

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improvement to be good

Some young people are now much more reflective about past events. A young person Inspection report children’s home: SC473375 6 spoke candidly about their past experiences and how they did not want to go down the same path again. This is because of the discussions that they have had with staff and youth offending teams.

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improvement to be good

The young people are in education, which is a positive achievement for them. However, this is on reduced timetables which have been in place for some time. Staff do not have a clear plan or structure for the remainder of the school day. Consequently, young people often spend this time in their room on games consoles. Furthermore, some staff do not appear to be confident about challenging young people when they ask to be collected early from school. This is not promoting the importance of education and learning new skills.

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improvement to be good

The manager has recently initiated an independence plan for the young people, as they were reliant on the staff for everything. Young people are now tidying their bedrooms daily, sorting their laundry and beginning to cook meals with staff. Staff encourage the young people to have a say in how the home is managed, for example by choosing activities and their meals.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not understand the important role that they have in helping young people to collect memorabilia and reflect on significant life events. Staff have created memory books, but these are comprised of a series of pictures with the captions ‘you said we did’.

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improvement to be good

One young person does not have many friends within the local area, and often chooses to spend time at home on their games console. Staff are making efforts to encourage the young people to try new activities and this has had some success with trips to go- karting and Halloween events.

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improvement to be good

Young people enjoy regular contact with their families and friends who live a considerable distance away from the home. Staff are aware that this is vital to the young people’s emotional health and well-being, and facilitate this well.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand their responsibilities in regard to keeping the young people safe, and know how to carry these out. Safeguarding policies and procedures are understood and implemented by the staff team. Staff are very aware of the individual risks associated with each young person. But, information pertaining to concerns around county lines and potential gang affiliation, and what steps are in place to re-educate young people and keep them safe, are not routinely recorded in the risk assessment.

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improvement to be good

A recent concern involving a member of staff has not been investigated well. The initial concern is poorly recorded and the designated safeguarding lead for the local authority has not been notified. The organisation’s safeguarding lead has not consistently followed the home’s policies and was not fully apprarised of all the information. However, the risk to young people is minimised as the member of staff concerned is no longer employed at Inspection report children’s home: SC473375 7 the home. The staff failed to send in a notification to Ofsted in relation to the concerns.

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improvement to be good

One young person had a significant number of episodes of going missing from care. Staff worked in partnership with other agencies to locate the young person and encourage them to return home. The police and other professionals were complimentary about the staff and the action that they took.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management and support are inconsistent. Some staff do not challenge the young people for fear that they will ‘kick off’. However, the incidents in the home have dramatically decreased in number and one young person was given a substantial reward for turning their behaviour around.

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improvement to be good

A young person was encouraged to complete an anger-management course. Staff sourced the course from the internet, but it was inappropriate for the young person as it was regarding work-related stress. Key-worker records indicate that the young person completed this course, but no information can be found as to what this entailed, and what work was carried out with the young person following this course.

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improvement to be good

The location risk assessment is not current, as it contains outdated information and does not take into consideration the needs of the current young people. The home is well maintained, and work has been carried out to make the rear gardens safer for young people to access. Young people personalise their rooms and have individual lounges where they can meet with family and friends.

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

The new manager started in September 2019. She has a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development of the home. She has already initiated several changes which are proving positive, and is aware of several of the issues identified at this inspection.

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

The statement of purpose is current and reflects the staff team and management arrangements.

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

Monitoring of the home by the manager and independent person is not yet secure. The previous manager’s monitoring of the home does not reflect the issues identified at this inspection. The independent person’s reports are detailed, but have missed several of the identified shortfalls.

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

Supervision of staff and annual appraisals have improved, as staff now have regular opportunities for professional discussions with the manager. The new manager has undertaken supervision sessions with all staff so that she can assess their individual strengths and areas for development. As a result, the manager is seeking refresher training for staff in behaviour management and support, and record-keeping.

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

Some improvements have been made in record-keeping, but these remain inconsistent. Inspection report children’s home: SC473375 8 This does not provide the young people with a clear picture of their time in the home or their achievements.

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

The manager has positively challenged placing authorities when she has felt that the young people have not been receiving the right level of support. This has brought about change, for example a small increase in the young people’s school hours.

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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 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: SC473375 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Continuum Support Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sinclair, 300 St Marys Road, Garston, Liverpool, Lancashire L19 0NQ

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Inspector

Chris Scully: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC473375 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 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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