Children's home run by 2nd Nurture Limited in St. Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 1 SC454265 Registered provider: 2nd Nurture Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home is registered to provide care for one child. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties or a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2013.

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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 SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 11 September 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/09/2019 Full Good 28/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 14/08/2018 Full Good 17/10/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has lived at this home for over three years. The child enjoys nurturing and trusting relationships with the staff and the inspector observed a warm relationship between the child and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a small family home that has been personalised by the child. Photos of the child and artwork he has created are on display in the lounge area. The child was proud to show the inspector his bedroom, with his toys and craftwork on display.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child spends time with staff doing activities that he enjoys. The child recently celebrated his birthday. Staff planned an activity and meal out for him with his friends. The child has also visited his friend’s home for tea. The child has been supported to develop healthy relationships with other children; this is progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, the child has transitioned to high school. Staff work closely with teachers to ensure that any issues are addressed. They support the child to work towards educational targets identified in his relevant plans. Despite some initial difficulties, the child has good attendance and is making progress academically.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff promote the child’s health and well-being, and he attends routine health appointments. The child has engaged with services to support his emotional well-being. Although this engagement is varied, staff continue to promote this service to the child to ensure that he has access to any support he may need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is able to spend time with people who are important to him. Staff closely monitor the child’s time with family. Any concerns are shared with the placing authority to ensure that the arrangements in place are beneficial to the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has requested a mobile phone. Although there are concerns regarding this, the registered manager has not recorded her response to the child’s request.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has benefited from the stability of living in this home. The registered manager has promoted life-story work, to help the child prepare for when he moves on from the home.

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

Staff the inspector spoke to demonstrate that they know the child well and have a good understanding of his risks and vulnerabilities. Risk management plans identify the strategies staff are to follow to manage and minimise these risks in order to keep the child safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 4 Staff at the home work closely with professionals involved in the child’s care. They attend relevant meetings, and any emerging concerns are quickly shared with the child’s placing authority. The child’s social worker said: ‘[name] is doing great. He is well supported by staff and they communicate any concerns.’ However, the registered manager has not ensured that she has the most up-to-date local authority documentation for the child. This was rectified during the inspection.

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

A rewards system is in place to promote positive behaviour. This encourages the child to be respectful towards others, as well as supporting other goals, such as to improve his personal hygiene. As a result, sanctions are used sparingly in this home. However, while records are signed by the registered manager, her evaluation is not robust. Records do not consistently demonstrate the impact of any action taken on the child’s behaviour.

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

Staff understand how the child’s early experiences affect his emotional development. Effective strategies are in place for staff to manage the child’s behaviour. Staff use key-work sessions to help the child understand the impact of his behaviour. Consequently, physical interventions have not been required.

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

External doors to the property require a key to open them, meaning that the child would be unable to leave the home independently in the event of an emergency. Furthermore, internal doors have locks on them. This prevents children from having access to all areas of their home and detracts from the homely environment that staff seek to provide. Similarly, some routine maintenance work has not been completed promptly, which detracts from the family atmosphere of the home.

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good

The home is managed by an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager.

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good

The child is cared for by a small staff team. Two members of staff have recently left the organisation. The registered manager recognises the impact this has on the child and prioritises his needs when planning for new staff members to join the home.

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good

Staff have access to a range of training and have the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the child currently living in the home. Staff spoke positively about the training undertaken and how it supports their understanding of the child’s early experiences. Two members of staff are working towards the qualification relevant to their role.

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good

Staff spoken to during the inspection told the inspector that they felt supported in their roles. Staff attend regular team meetings. The child has attended team meetings, which provides the opportunity for him to contribute to the running of his home. Supervision records demonstrate that staff are encouraged to reflect on their practice and identify areas for development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 5 Shortfalls were identified in the home’s rota system. Rotas do not include the hours that the registered manager is working.

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good

The home has an independent visitor in place to provide external scrutiny of the home. However, the content of the report gives limited feedback to the provider. Some of the reports do not make recommendations that help the home to improve its service.

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good

The registered manager has submitted a quality of care report. However, the report lacks evaluation and reflection on any learning. It does not include consultation with children, families or external agencies in order to support the development of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 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 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 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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that thumb-turn locks are fitted to external doors and that repairs to the home are undertaken promptly. 24 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children have access to all areas of their home. 10 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— 10 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 7 the name of the child;

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to the registered person’s monitoring and oversight of each measure. The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 10 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 8 The registered person must ensure that children’s case records are kept up to date. 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. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that rotas record the actual hours worked in the home, including those of the registered person. 10 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(c)(5))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must improve the evaluative content of the report, including gaining feedback from stakeholders and including actions to drive forward improvements in the home. 10 March 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the reasons for reaching any decision are carefully explained to and understood by the child or children concerned, particularly in relation to the child’s access to a mobile phone. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.9)  The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 9 assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘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 for children’s home: SC454265 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: 2nd Nurture Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 64 Nathan Drive, Haydock, St Helens, Merseyside WA11 0GW

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Inspector

Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 11 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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