Children's home run by Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council

Inspection report children's home: SC037670 1 SC037670 Registered provider: Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides short-break care for children between the ages of 11 and 17 years. It provides short breaks for up to two children at a time. Additionally, the staff provide community-based outreach support to children and their families.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Children were not spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 26 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: 6 February 2020

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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: SC037670 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/11/2018 Full Good 17/11/2017 Full Good 27/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC037670 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children and their families with a high level of individualised support, which includes short-break care. Children benefit from intense and focused direct- work sessions, which are undertaken during their short breaks and within their families. As a result, many children have been able to remain living at home with their parents and carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are skilled at developing positive and engaging relationships with both children and their carers. They demonstrate warmth and understanding when talking about the children they care for. This ensures that children feel well cared for and valued during their short-break stays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are heard and recorded. Children are involved in preparing their individual plans and improvements within the home. For example, children asked for Wi-Fi and the manager has sourced this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities. Staff ensure that they have opportunities to try new hobbies and interests, such as ice skating. This gives children an opportunity to meet new friends and increase their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm and welcoming environment. It is homely and well maintained. The bedrooms are decorated in a theme, and children can pick which room they would like to sleep in when they visit. This helps children to settle and feel at ease during their stays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents, carers and social workers speak highly of the care provided and the staff. This is reflected in a carer’s comments, ‘The service has been an absolute godsend. It really helped us when we were at crisis point.’

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

Children’s risk assessments are robust and effective. Staff are aware of the individual risks for children and the actions needed to safeguard them. Risk assessments are reviewed regularly, and there is evidence that all staff understand and implement them. Children are being safeguarded effectively during their stay.

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

Staff are child-focused and know the children well. They use a restorative approach to behaviour management. A staff member said, ‘It’s easier to talk to a child and give them a chance to change their behaviour, rather than taking everything away.’ As a result, the staff have not needed to use physical intervention or sanctions to manage children’s behaviour.

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

Children and their families have a strong sense of safety during their short break away from home. A parent said, ‘I can relax and know that he is safe and the staff Inspection report children's home: SC037670 4 know him well. They keep me updated, and I still feel involved even when he stays overnight. They are so supportive and helpful and they listen.’

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

Children are encouraged to have good routines during their stay. Staff involve children in the planning of routines and meals. This helps children to feel involved and builds their independence skills.

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

The manager has completed an annual assessment of the local area. This is up to date and gives clear oversight of the community and any risks presented. The assessment is thorough and reflects the practices the home implements to ensure the safety of children.

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

Whilst there are robust risk assessments completed for children, they do not cover the procedures for children going missing from the home. This means that there are no clear, direct strategies in place should a child go missing during their short-break stay. A clear, individualised plan needs to be in place for each child, to give clear guidance to staff and ensure children’s safety.

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

Safe recruitment of staff can be improved by ensuring that the reasons for leaving previous employment with children are consistently verified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager inspires a strong and nurturing child-centred culture. Staff and professionals speak highly of the registered manager and the service provided under her leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular and good-quality supervision. There are regular team meetings, which allow staff to reflect, discuss and identify areas for progression. This allows a positive and robust team to develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that the registered manager is approachable. Support is readily available to them when they need it. The registered manager directs a positive staff ethos. Consequently, the staff team is settled and stable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a consistent staff team made up of committed and skilled staff members who have high aspirations for the children and families that they are working with. This ensures continuity of care to the children they are caring for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

While there is a wealth of training undertaken by the staff team, some shortfalls were identified. This was in relation to training for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The manager’s oversight of staff’s training and qualifications is an area for improvement to ensure that all staff obtain the relevant qualification as required. The registered manager should collate staff’s training and development in a service-specific workforce plan. This should be routinely updated to reflect staff’s new training and any identified learning needs. Inspection report children's home: SC037670 5 An independent visitor carries out visits to the home on a regular basis. However, these visits lack rigour. For example, the visits are announced and on two occasions visits had taken place virtually. The manager acknowledges that this needs to be reviewed with the independent visitor to ensure that each visit benefits the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

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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 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that all staff have or are working towards the relevant qualification and are trained to meet the identified needs of children. 18 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to verifying the reasons why previous employment has ended. 18 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the missing child policy”) setting out—

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Requirement Due date

the steps taken, and to be taken, to prevent children from being absent without permission; and 18 February 2022 Inspection report children's home: SC037670 7 the procedures to be followed, and the roles and responsibilities of persons working at the home, in relation to a child who is, or has been, so absent. (Regulation 34 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that there are clear procedures in place for staff to follow should a child go missing from home. Missing-from-home procedures should be individualised for each child and recorded on their files.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the workforce plan is specific to the staff working at the home. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home. It should be used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that the person undertaking the independent monitoring visits provides a rigorous assessment of the arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the children’s welfare. The visits should be face to face when safe to do so and at times unannounced. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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: SC037670 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Knowsley MBC, Children’s Services, Huyton Municipal Buildings, 6th Floor, Huyton, Knowsley, Merseyside L36 9YU

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Inspectors

Michelle Edge, Regulatory Inspection Manager Rose Maddocks, Social Care Inspector Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC037670 9 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

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