Children's Home run by New Foundations Care Homes Limited in St Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: SC406636 1 SC406636 Registered provider: Building Bridges Care Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. The home’s statement of purpose states that it provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 30 November 2021

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC406636 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/08/2021 Full Inadequate 11/03/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/04/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC406636 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team knows the children’s needs well. This enables staff to respond to children’s needs and promote their welfare. As a result, children develop confidence and resilience.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are passionate about their work in caring for children. They persevere to meet their needs. This helps children to focus on their futures and long-term plans. A social worker said: ‘The care [name of provision] offer to [child’s name] is exceptional. He has made significant progress and is really settled there. I can’t fault them.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for children. They strive to find suitable vocational courses for children and support their education when they are not in school. This helps children to make progress. One child said, ‘Staff help me with my education and I’m now doing a placement. It’s going well.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff complete regular key-work sessions with children. This helps children to reflect on their behaviours and actions. It also helps children to learn about different cultures and to talk openly in a safe environment. One social worker said, ‘[Name of child] she has settled well and appears to feel able to trust staff and express herself openly.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to manage their health needs. Children register with doctors and dentists and access support from a wide range of other services. This means that children’s routine appointments and checks are up to date.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy spending time together in communal areas of the home. They like watching movies and playing games. However, not all areas of the home are warm or welcoming and this can affect children’s emotional well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children create personal memory books while living in the home. These include photos of their activities and experiences. This contributes to their history and life- story work and enables them to reflect on their achievements.

p.3

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

Children feel safe and supported living in the home. Staff provide a strong response to safeguard children and work closely with agencies. However, the registered manager does not report all significant events to the relevant authorities. This affects children’s welfare and safety.

p.3

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

Leaders review children’s risk management plans after all incidents and at least monthly. This ensures that staff identify and manage risks appropriately. Staff also receive an in-depth handover each day to discuss any issues or concerns. This Inspection report for children’s home: SC406636 4 promotes good communication across the team and provides consistent care for children.

p.3

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

Children review their plans with staff every month. This encourages children to access their files and to contribute to them. It helps children to understand their plans and reflect on their progress.

p.4

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

Staff develop strong working relationships with children. They use de-escalation techniques to help children to manage their own behaviour. This ensures that physical interventions are rarely required.

p.4

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

Incidents of children going missing are well managed and responses are coordinated with local police/local agencies. They are followed up with an offer of an independent return home interview. Staff adhere to local authority protocols and take swift action to find missing children.

p.4

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

A clinical psychologist provides support for staff each month. A member of staff said, ‘They listen to us and give us advice on strategies, which can make a big difference for young people.’

p.4

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

Children have access to all areas of the home during the day. However, staff activate a security alarm every night which prevents children’s access to communal areas.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new manager is in post and registered with Ofsted in April 2022. She is aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. This enables her to make improvements to the quality of care for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. This helps them to feel supported and enables them to provide good-quality care. One member of staff said: ‘I feel fully supported in my role. The managers are a great team.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have annual appraisals, which include feedback from managers and children. This enables them to reflect on their work and to set targets for the coming year. This improves service delivery and overall performance.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff access a wide range of training to develop their skills and knowledge. However, the workforce plan lacks detail and the staff team is not trained in relation to children’s specific issues. This means children’s needs are not always fully understood.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers promote multi-agency work. They have strong links with local providers. Staff chase up and escalate concerns if responses are not satisfactory. This helps children to access their support without drift and delay.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager encourages children to contribute to the development of their home. Children attend regular meetings to discuss issues such as house decor, Inspection report for children’s home: SC406636 5 activities, current issues and meals. This ensures that staff listen and respond to children’s views. Inspection report for children’s home: SC406636 6

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, the 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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

p.6

Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, that ground floor alarms which prevent children from accessing communal areas and facilities at night are removed. 31 May 2022

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.6

Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

p.6

Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

p.6

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

p.6

Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

p.6

Requirement Due date

is instigated; or 16 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC406636 7 concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

p.6

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

p.7

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.7

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, that bedrooms and communal areas are homely, hygienic and domestic environments. 31 May 2022

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule (Regulation 16 (1))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the workforce plan. In addition to training, this should detail the necessary management and staffing structure, the experience and qualifications of staff and the process for managing poor performance. It should also detail the agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction and probation and the timescales for staff supervision. 10 June 2022

p.7

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the relevant skills to meet the needs of each child. They should ensure that staff have access to training to Inspection report for children’s home: SC406636 8 support their development and understanding of children’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

p.7

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: SC406636 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Building Bridges Care Homes Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

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

p.9

Inspector

Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC406636 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10