Children's Home run by Nugent Care 2019 in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025395 1 SC025395 Registered provider: Nugent Care Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a charity. It provides care for up to six children. Children living at the home may have emotional and social difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager resigned on 28 February 2022. An interim manager oversees the home and has applied to Ofsted for registration.

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: 18 January 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 18 January 2022. Inspectors found serious concerns in relation in safeguarding of children’s welfare and the leadership and management of the home. As a result of the shortfalls found at this inspection, it was Ofsted’s view that a restriction of accommodation notice, issued on 30 December 2021, should remain in place. Furthermore, Ofsted issued compliance notices in relation to regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025395 2 At a monitoring visit on 15 March 2022, inspectors found that new management arrangements were ensuring that staff provide safe and effective care for the children living at the home. Leaders and managers had addressed the serious shortfalls in safeguarding practice and the management of risks to children’s safety.

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

Consequently, it was Ofsted’s view that the compliance notices had been met and the notice restricting accommodation was no longer required. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025395 3

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2022 Full Inadequate 06/10/2021 Full Inadequate 27/11/2019 Full Good 07/08/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025395 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers have improved the quality of care and protection that children receive. Consequently, children’s experiences and progress have improved significantly.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are now living in a well-organised, nurturing and comfortable home. Each child is getting individualised support to meet their assessed needs. Children said that they are happy, safe and settled. They are positive about living in the home and say that the staff listen to them and understand their wishes and feelings. Staff make sure that children are involved in decisions affecting their lives and influence the support that they receive.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s participation in education has improved. Every child attends a suitable educational provision that meets their needs or are in employment. Staff understand the value of education and its importance for children’s outcomes. They understand the targets that children are working towards and their next steps for learning.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with the virtual school and teachers to make sure that children get the right support with their education. For example, staff have supported a child to engage successfully with a tutor and sit national examinations. Staff have actively advocated for a child when they were not achieving their expected results, as a good parent would do.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional and physical health needs are understood and met. Children receive support and advice that promotes their welfare and encourages them to have healthy lifestyles. Staff make sure that children attend health appointments and get health support when they are unwell.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and support children to keep in touch with their family and other important people. However, occasionally, staff have not understood the placing authority’s arrangements for family time. This has meant that staff have struggled to help a child to understand the reasons for restrictions on family time. These arrangements have now been clearly set out by the child’s social worker and monitored through frequent care planning meetings.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with the children to develop their independence skills. This includes how to manage their monies, how to plan and prepare healthy meals and where to go shopping. However, some children struggle to take part in planning for their future. Not all children develop emotional resilience, support networks and problem-solving skills as they prepare for adult life. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025395 5

p.4

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

Children feel safe and are protected from the risk of harm. Staff provide opportunities for children to talk about their worries and encourage them to ask for help. Since the last inspection, children have become increasingly safer from exploitation, self-injurious behaviour, bullying and alcohol and substance misuse.

p.5

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

Managers and staff know their roles and responsibilities to report, record and follow up every concern about a child’s welfare. Concerns about children’s safety are reported without delay to the safeguarding agencies, including Ofsted, in line with the relevant legislation, regulations and statutory guidance.

p.5

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

The manager’s oversight of staff practice and serious incidents is improving safeguarding practice. Any shortfalls in safeguarding practice are identified and addressed effectively. Staff get the right guidance, support and training to recognise that children may be at risk of harm and take immediate and effective action to protect children.

p.5

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

Up-to-date risk assessments and management plans provide clear and effective strategies for managing risks to individual children. Managers and staff recognise the signs that children may be involved in exploitative relationships and take action to prevent these types of relationships. This enables children to understand what makes a healthy and nurturing relationship.

p.5

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

Staff help children to understand the risks and dangers involved in going missing from home. Children recognise the importance of keeping in touch with staff when they go out. When children have gone missing from home, staff have taken urgent action to find them and return them home safely. Staff make sure that children speak to an independent person when they return home.

p.5

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

Staff are developing skills and an understanding of children’s lived experiences and trauma on their relationships, self-esteem and ability to manage their feelings. Staff know what they need to do to help children when they are upset and find healthy ways to manage their feelings. Staff support children to deal with difficult situations safely and no longer need to use physical interventions to keep children safe. Staff work in partnerships with social workers to make sure that children receive support from specialist services to help them recover from trauma.

p.5

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

Children know how to complain and talk to the participation worker and staff when they are unhappy. Their concerns are taken seriously and resolved quickly. However, managers do not always keep detailed records of what they did in response to the complaint, the outcome and any action needed to improve the standard of children’s care.

p.5

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

Children do not always receive their prescribed medication. For example, a child did not receive their medicine for three days because they were asleep in bed at the time when they should take it. This shortfall has not had a negative impact on the child’s welfare and the arrangements are being reviewed with a doctor. The home’s Inspection report for children’s home: SC025395 6 systems for monitoring medication identify areas for improvement, including making sure that two members of staff sign the medication records, but this has not yet been consistently put into practice.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and responsible individual have made the necessary changes to improve the quality of care and protection that children receive. They have systematically addressed the shortfalls found at the last inspection in children’s care, education, health, managing risks to children, staff knowledge and skills, and the leadership and management of the home. The improvements have had a positive impact on children’s experiences and progress.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is confident, very experienced and qualified. She is ambitious for children to be safe and reach their potential and has high expectations for the standard of care and support that they must receive.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed a structured and supportive environment to enable staff to provide children with good-quality care. Staff morale has significantly improved. Staff feel valued and supported by managers. Staff are enthusiastic and enjoy spending time with the children. New staff have brought energy and new ideas about how to support the children.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home continues to experience staff shortages. However, the staffing arrangements are well organised and provide continuity of care for children. There are always enough suitable staff available to meet children’s assessed needs and protect them from harm.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Improved management and communication systems ensure that staff have the up- to-date information that they need to understand children’s needs and arrangements and plans for their care. Staff have a detailed understanding of children’s needs and plans.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, staff have received training so that they can meet the identified needs of each child. Team meetings and practice-related supervision now take place. This ensures that staff understand their roles, the needs of the children and how best to support them. Managers review staff’s performance and continued suitability to work with vulnerable children.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers use monitoring systems and plans to have an accurate picture of the quality of care and protection children receive and compliance with the regulations and statutory guidance. Leaders and managers are not complacent and continue to strive to provide children with the best possible care to meet their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025395 7

p.6

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.

p.7

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.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

p.7

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)(c))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the inspection in January 2022 and is repeated. 20 June 2022

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 20 June 2022

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff support children to develop emotional resilience, support networks and problem-solving skills as they prepare for adult life. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including Quality Standards’ page 16, paragraph 3.27)

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand and follow the placing authority’s arrangements for assessing that staying with family members is in the interests of the child. Staff help the child to understand the reasons for any restrictions on seeing members of their family. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including Quality Standards’ page 58, paragraph 11.17) Inspection report for children’s home: SC025395 8

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: SC025395 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 99 Edge Lane, Edge Hill, Liverpool L7 2PE

p.9

Inspector

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025395 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