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

Inspection report children’s home: SC063284 1 SC063284 Registered provider: Building Bridges Care Homes Ltd

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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 privately owned children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since October 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 requires improvement to be 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: 12 December 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC063284 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2018 Full Outstanding 20/09/2017 Full Good 16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/12/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC063284 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 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 that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and that the home’s 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)(ii)(vi)(b)) 14/02/2020

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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 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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(h)) 14/02/2020

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, ensure that all areas of the home are maintained to a high standard.  All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take account, where Inspection report children’s home: SC063284 4 reasonable and practical, the views of children, and of other professionals who have worked with the staff member. Also, ensure that staff have clear action plans for the professional development agreed at their performance review meetings. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5) Inspection report children’s home: SC063284 5

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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 young people’s needs, and provide them with personalised care and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people benefit from developing positive relationships with a consistent, friendly and nurturing staff team. Some young people who have moved on from the home have kept in touch with the staff. This demonstrates the positive impact that the home has on young people’s lives and experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote young people’s physical and emotional health well. With the staff’s unwavering support and encouragement, young people engage with therapeutic services, which is helping to improve their emotional well-being and enhance their safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff have high aspirations for the young people in their care. Most young people make continued progress in their education from their starting points. This is largely down to the staff’s dedicated support and strong partnership working with schools and virtual headteachers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff make sure that young people’s moves into and out of the home are well planned and supported. As a result, the young people feel welcome when they arrive at the home and wholly prepared when they leave.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Improving the young people’s stability is a key strength of this home. Most young people who move into the home settle quickly and stay until they are ready to move on to independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some minor outstanding repairs in the home, such as ripped wallpaper, cracks in walls and a fallen fence panel in the garden, are undermining the welcoming homely environment.

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improvement to be good

There are elements of strong safeguarding practice in this home. The staff are skilled at establishing positive relationships with the young people, based on mutual respect and trust. These supportive relationships are helping the young people to confide in staff when they feel worried, unsafe and in need of adult guidance and support.

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improvement to be good

At times, the staff’s lack of vigilance and slow response to serious safeguarding concerns are compromising some young people’s welfare and safety; for example, not seeking medical guidance when they suspect that a young person has self-harmed. Inspection report children’s home: SC063284 6 Strategies for managing young people’s substance misuse are inconsistent and at times ineffective. Although some staff undertake bedroom searches when they suspect a young person is using cannabis, others do not. The staff’s inconsistent and ineffective responses to substance misuse are undermining young people’s sustained progress in this area.

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improvement to be good

How staff help young people to understand their vulnerabilities and keep safe is variable. While some young people benefit from regular key-work sessions on important matters, such as self-harm, key-work sessions on substance misuse and sexual health are less evident.

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improvement to be good

In the main, incidents of young people going missing from home are managed well. However, staffing arrangements when young people are missing overnight are at times unsatisfactory. For example, there are no clear arrangements in place to ensure that staff continue to try and locate the young person throughout the night.

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improvement to be good

The staff personnel files sampled at the inspection demonstrated safer recruitment practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager. His child- focused approach is mirrored throughout the staff’s care and practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A caring and stable staff team enables young people to develop long-lasting relationships with their staff. Most members of the team have worked at the home for a long time, so young people benefit from consistent care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff receive regular professional supervision which enables them to reflect on their practice with the manager. In addition to this, staff have their performance appraised annually. However, staff’s performance appraisals do not consider the young people’s or other stakeholders’ views, nor do they identify any actions for continued learning and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In the main, the staff are suitably equipped with the knowledge, skills and expertise to fulfil their roles competently. Most of the members of the staff team are suitably qualified and experienced. However, some gaps in staff training were identified at the inspection, in particular radicalisation and refresher medication training. There is evidence of good partnership working with a range of relevant services. The professionals consulted with provided positive comments on the registered manager, staff team and standard of care provided to the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The shortfalls found in some of the home’s documents, in particular medication records and incident reports, demonstrate weaknesses in the manager’s monitoring and auditing systems. Inspection report children’s home: SC063284 7

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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: SC063284 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Building Bridges Care Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Marina Tully, social care inspector Catherine Fargin, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC063284 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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