Children's home run by Independent Living Services (North West) Limited in St. Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: SC431192 1 SC431192 Registered provider: Independent Living Services (North West) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care for up to four children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post has been vacant since February 2021.

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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 for children’s home: SC431192 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/08/2021 Full Good 26/02/2020 Full Outstanding 06/11/2018 Full Good 03/05/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC431192 3

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improvement to be good

There are currently two children living in this home. One child has recently moved in; staff are starting to develop relationships with her. Children are cared for by a consistent staff team whose members know them well. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s needs and try to engage children in things that interest them, and which they enjoy.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a warm, spacious, homely environment. Photos of the children are on display throughout the home. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to each child’s individual needs.

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improvement to be good

Plans are in place to support children with their individual health needs. However, plans do not always contain the most up-to-date information. For one child, plans showed that a referral had been made for services to support their emotional well- being. However, it was not clear if the child had accessed this much-needed support.

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improvement to be good

Children currently living in this home are enrolled in full-time education and their attendance is promoted well by the staff team. Staff spoken to have a good understanding of the barriers children face in relation to their education and support children to overcome these.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them. They are able to invite friends and family to their home. Staff communicate well with children’s family members and understand that it is important to promote these relationships for children.

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improvement to be good

The home has good working relationships with other professionals involved in children’s care. However, some relevant plans and information were missing from children’s records. This hinders the acting manager’s ability to demonstrate how the home’s care planning supports children to make progress against the placing authorities’ expectations.

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improvement to be good

The management of risk is inconsistent. As a result, children are not always safeguarded effectively. Children have individualised risk management plans in place that include the strategies staff are to follow in order to manage and minimise these risks. Plans are updated following incidents to ensure that they contain the most current information. However, the strategies in place have not always been followed by staff. On one occasion, staff had concerns that a child had consumed alcohol and then left the home. Staff failed to support the child effectively; the strategies Inspection report for children’s home: SC431192 4 identified in the risk management plan were not followed in order to ensure that the child was safe.

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improvement to be good

There have been incidents where children have gone missing from the home. Risk management plans are in place which outline the procedure staff are to follow should a child go missing from home. However, the procedures in place have not always been followed by staff. A new document has been introduced to ensure that staff are clear on the actions they are to take should children go missing. As a result, recent incidents of children going missing from the home have been managed effectively.

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improvement to be good

When children come to live at the home, consideration is given to the needs of children already living in the home. Despite this process, one child’s progress was negatively affected by another child living at the home and the placement ended in an unplanned way. The newly appointed responsible individual has reviewed the process for future admissions to the home.

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improvement to be good

Children have individualised behaviour management plans in place which provide staff with strategies as to how best to support them. Physical intervention has not been used in this home as staff are able to defuse the majority of incidents that arise.

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improvement to be good

Positive behaviour is promoted through incentives and consequences are used sparingly in this home. However, records of consequences do not detail the behaviour of the child, or the action that staff took that led to the measures being put in place. Furthermore, records do not always demonstrate discussion with children. This does not demonstrate how children are supported to reflect on their behaviour, or the impact of any action taken.

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good

There has been some instability in leadership and management since the last inspection. There is currently no registered manager in post. The home is being managed by a newly appointed, experienced responsible individual and an experienced member of staff has recently stepped up to the role of deputy manager.

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good

The lack of a consistent manager in this home has led to shortfalls in the oversight of the day-to-day running of the home. The responsible individual recognises that monitoring systems need to improve and is currently modifying the systems in place to ensure that these are effective.

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good

There are gaps in staff training. Not all staff have received training to support their understanding of children’s individual needs. For example, a number of staff have not had training in working with children with autism spectrum disorder despite identifying this as a current need. A number of courses that staff have undertaken were not included in the home’s training matrix. This limits the ability of leaders and Inspection report for children’s home: SC431192 5 managers to support the ongoing development of staff and ensure that they have the skills they need.

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good

Team meetings take place regularly. The new responsible individual held a team meeting to discuss the recent changes. Staff spoken to during the inspection commented positively on the changes to management arrangements. Staff say that they now feel supported in their roles and are invested in making changes to improve the home.

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good

Supervision records demonstrate that staff are encouraged to reflect on their own performance and practice. However, not all members of staff have received an annual appraisal to support their professional development.

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good

Monthly visits from an independent person support the development of the home. A new independent person has recently been appointed to ensure that these visits are effective in developing the home and securing improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: SC431192 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

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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff follow actions detailed in children’s risk management plans. 9 June 2022

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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;

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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. 9 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC431192 7 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there are effective monitoring systems in place to ensure that oversight of all aspects of the day-to-day running of the home are undertaken, that staff have training specific to the individual needs of children and that all staff receive an annual performance appraisal. The registered person must ensure that—

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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—

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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

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

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)(ii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that records demonstrate what action staff have taken to avoid using the measure and evidence consultation with children. 9 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC431192 8 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))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s case records are kept up to date. 9 June 2022

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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: SC431192 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Independent Living Services (North West) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lakeside, Prescot Road, St Helens, Merseyside WA10 3TP

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Inspector

Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC431192 10 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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