Children's Home run by New Start in Knowsley

Inspection report children's home: SC471289 1 SC471289 Registered provider: New Start Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by a private company. The home provides care and support for up to four children.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager in post. A manager has recently been appointed and has applied to Ofsted for registration.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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

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: SC471289 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/06/2019 Full Good 12/12/2018 Interim Not judged 19/04/2017 Full Good 05/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC471289 3

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improvement to be good

The home has experienced a significant turnover of staff and managers. This has had an impact on the quality of care being provided to children, not enabling children to build consistent relationships with the adults caring for them. One child said, ‘It’s hard when staff keeping changing.’ However, children said that the new staff are friendly and happy, and they can talk to them if they are worried or upset.

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improvement to be good

Professionals report that children have made progress from their starting points. However, documentation often does not demonstrate the progress that children have made. This is a missed opportunity to capture children’s journey, experiences and progress.

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improvement to be good

Education outcomes for children are variable. Some children attend regularly and have achieved 100% attendance. However, when children refuse to attend school, staff are unclear on what action they should take. Education plans do not provide staff with clear strategies on how to manage this. Therefore, some children remain in their bedrooms throughout the school day.

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improvement to be good

Healthcare plans are not sufficiently detailed, as they do not include information such as how to help children to stop smoking. However, children are registered with healthcare professionals and receive medical care and attention when needed.

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improvement to be good

Medication is not recorded or administered in line with children’s prescriptions. Dates and times are not consistently recorded and not all records are counter-signed as per company policy.

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improvement to be good

Key-working sessions are variable in quality and do not demonstrate that children are supported to make progress in all key areas of their lives. In addition, only limited discussions have taken place with some children, despite them living in the home for several months.

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improvement to be good

Due to the limited records in the home, it is difficult to understand how the views of children are captured. Children have requested support from staff around family time and activities. However, as this is not recorded, it is difficult to understand if any action has been taken to support children’s wishes and feelings.

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improvement to be good

Transitions out of the home are planned well. One child was moving into her own home during the inspection. She excitedly told inspectors about the move and the support staff had given to prepare her for moving on. She had recently secured a job on a Disney cruise ship and was excited for her future. Inspection report children's home: SC471289 4 Children are supported to try new and exciting activities, such as going to the beach, visiting amusement parks and going go-karting. Children are supported to spend quality time with their family and friends.

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improvement to be good

Children’s bedrooms are personalised and reflect their individual tastes and interests. However, the home environment requires improvement. All ground floor rooms are locked and fire doors are wedged open. The dining table does not have sufficient seating to allow children and staff to sit together to have a meal. In addition, several cupboards in the kitchen were fitted with padlocks and the electricity cabinet was left unlocked and insecure. These issues detract from the homely environment staff are striving to achieve and compromise children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

Some staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities in protecting children and the actions to take if children are at risk of harm. However, the managers have not consistently followed safeguarding procedures and safety risk assessments when allegations have been made about staff.

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improvement to be good

The provider has failed to ensure that impact risk assessments consider all known risk factors for new children moving into the home and the children already living in the home. Assessments have been completed after children have moved into the home. The assessments do not include all relevant details, including all known risks, to enable managers to reach an informed decision about how to keep the child safe.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management strategies are inconsistent. Inspectors observed a child’s inappropriate language going unchallenged. Furthermore, some staff appeared to be colluding with the child and shared confidential information about other children when in their presence. The deputy manager did challenge staff about this incident when it was brought to his attention.

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improvement to be good

Sanctions are not always proportionate or fair and are often monetary, with no consideration given to their effectiveness. This does not help to set clear consistent boundaries for children.

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improvement to be good

The incidents of children going missing from the home are reducing. When children go missing from home, staff take effective action to find them and work with all safeguarding professionals to share information. However, documentation does not always include all the actions that staff have taken to find and return children safely to the home.

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improvement to be good

Some professionals provided positive feedback about the home and stated that due to the work completed with one child, the risk for them in relation to county lines and criminal exploitation is reducing. However, other professionals did raise concerns about the turnover of staff and said that communication systems are not consistent. This has meant there has sometimes been a delay in information being reported. Inspection report children's home: SC471289 5

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good

There has been no registered manager in post since February 2020. Two managers were appointed and subsequently left their posts after applying to Ofsted to register. This has had an impact on the quality of care for children and on staff morale. Despite the managers providing action plans to the regulator about actions taken to meet the previous requirements, these remain outstanding.

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good

The area manager has now applied to be the registered manager of the home. He is supported by a deputy and assistant manager. He has a good understanding of the improvements required to improve the quality of care in the home.

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good

The recent changes to the management team in the home have brought some stability for the staff. Several staff said that since the deputy manager started to work at the home they have gained a better understanding of their roles and understand the importance of routines and boundaries for children, and he has helped bring about change.

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good

Rotas do not reflect the actual hours that staff work or include the full names of staff on duty. In addition, the hours that managers work are not consistently included. Furthermore, the training matrix does not demonstrate that staff have the required skills or experience to care for the children safely.

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good

Monitoring of the service is not secure. The previous managers’ monitoring reports referred to another home in the organisation. The independent person’s report has failed to identify issues identified at this visit, including the poor recording of controlled drugs. Furthermore, the independent person’s company provides training to the staff, therefore it is questionable as to how independent the visitor is.

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good

The area manager and responsible individual were aware of some of the shortfalls identified at the inspection, such as poor record-keeping, a lack of key-worker support for children and limited information about children’s progress. They had started to take steps to address these issues. Inspection report children's home: SC471289 6

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review; and 27 August 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC471289 7 ensure that each child—

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(b)(i))

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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

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 socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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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

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii)(x)) 27 August 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC471289 8 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

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 to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(d)) 27 August 2021

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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

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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; 27 August 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC471289 9 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that 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 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)(b)(c)(f)(h))

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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

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 27 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 27 August 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC471289 10 Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that rotas include the full names of all staff who work in the home and the actual hours worked. 27 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 27 August 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC471289 11

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC471289 12

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Chris Scully, Social Care Inspector Michelle Edge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC471289 13 to 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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