Children's Home run by St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in St Helens

Inspection report children's home: SC063550 1 SC063550 Registered provider: St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This local authority children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to 4 young people who cannot live with their families.

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Information about this children's home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in 2012.

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Information about this children's home

Young people were spoken to as part of this inspection.

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Information about this children's home

Inspection dates: 26 to 27 November 2019

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Recent inspection history

Inspection report children's home: SC063550 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2018 Full Good 04/10/2017 Full Good 22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC063550 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 positive relationship 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

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(vi)(v)(b)) 17/02/2020

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Requirement Due date

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

that staff— 17/02/2020 Inspection report children's home: SC063550 4 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

that the homes 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)(iv)(v)(vi)(b)) 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

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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

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;

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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 and 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)(a)(f)(h)) 17/02/2020

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home; and 17/02/2020 Inspection report children's home: SC063550 5 have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

that each child's relevant plans are followed; (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c) Statement of purpose

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children's home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

(a) keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and (b) notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16(1)(3)(a)(b)) 17/02/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if —

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or 17/02/2020 Inspection report children's home: SC063550 6 there is any other serious incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Young people’s overall progress and experiences are compromised by poor care planning and safeguarding practice. This does not demonstrate that young people’s welfare and safety is prioritised. Staff members do not have sufficient skills, experience to create a safe environment. This means that young people’s care, progress and safety have been compromised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff cannot ensure that young people’s day-to-day experiences are positive. Some staff told the inspector that they cannot predict what happens in the home. Staff try to manage young people’s behaviour. However, there are not effective behaviour management strategies to support young people in improving their behaviour. This means that young people continue to display violent, aggressive behaviour which places themselves and staff at risk.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Throughout the inspection, whilst it was evident that managers and staff know the young people well, the staff were not always able to provide individualised care, for example the registered manager took the decision to admit one young person into the home with poor matching and incidents have increased. This fails to demonstrate that planning for young people is safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff reported that they complete work with the young people on safe and appropriate relationships. This includes mediation work with young people. However, this work is ineffective because relationships are not improving. This does not demonstrate that this work helps and protects the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support young people to develop independence skills in line with their age and understanding. This helps young people develop skills for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff understand the importance of young people keeping in touch with their friends and families and they support them to do this. This means that young people can maintain relationships with their parents and siblings. Inspection report children's home: SC063550 7 The home is welcoming and friendly and some young people told the inspector that they like living at the home. Furthermore, the inspector observed warm relationships between the young people and staff.

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

The inspector found that the arrangements for safeguarding young people are poor. The inspector found that risk management is ineffective. Staff failed to understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting young people, and despite plans in place that identify risk factors, strategies to minimise these are ineffective.

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

The risks in relation to some young people have increased. Staff told the inspector that incidents are ‘more severe’ and that they have ‘exhausted all strategies’ to manage some young people’s behaviour. This does not demonstrate that managers and staff are helping young people to become increasingly safe.

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

Young people’s risk assessments do not include up-to-date information regarding safeguarding incidents. This means that staff are not always provided with clear guidance and appropriate strategies on how to keep children safe.

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

Staff’s day-to-day care and supervision of young people is not always delivered in a way that keeps young people safe or protects them effectively from harm. Staff do not always follow young people’s risk management plans. This means that staff do not consistently safeguard young people, and as a result young people are left in potentially unsafe situations. For example, when young people are out in the community and when they are using the internet.

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

Behaviour management is poor because the strategies to manage some young people’s behaviour are not working. As a result, young people have caused damage to the home, harmed staff and each other. On two occasions some young people were taken out of the home to ensure their safety. This is because staff cannot safely manage some incidents within the home.

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

Staff use physical intervention to manage some young people’s behaviour. This is used appropriately to ensure young people’s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is a registered manager in post and she is supported by a newly acting deputy manager. They have failed to demonstrate that they are leading and managing the home in a manner that is consistent with the aims outlined in the statement of purpose. This fails to demonstrate that the care being delivered meets the individual needs of the young people or promotes their safety and welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager’s oversight of care planning is poor. The registered manager does not robustly assess and review planning in respect of young people. This means Inspection report children's home: SC063550 8 that the registered manager cannot identify and address shortfalls to improve the quality of care provided to young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not demonstrate a clear understanding of the progress young people are making. This means that managers do not understand the impact the quality of care is having on the progress and experiences of young people. Furthermore, some staff told the manager that the home is not right for some young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers are providing the staff with group supervision. This is due to staff shortages. Some staff say that group supervision is not helpful and that they prefer individual supervision. Therefore, managers are not providing the right supportive environment for some staff through effective supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers did not notify Ofsted of serious incidents as stipulated in regulations. This means that Ofsted cannot effectively monitor the situation in the home. Furthermore, the home’s statement of purpose does not include the information set out in schedule one. Requirements have been made to reflect these shortfalls.

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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: SC063550 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Children & Young Peoples Services, Atlas House, 2 Corporation Street, ST. HELENS, Merseyside, WA9 1LD

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Inspector

Catherine Fargin, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC063550 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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