Children's Home run by North West Youth Services in Blackpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2621193 1 Registered provider: North West Youth Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for one child.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a manager who registered with Ofsted in May 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: 2 November 2021

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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: 2621193 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2621193 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child who lives in this home is making good progress. They are cared for by a stable and consistent staff team, which has enabled them to develop relationships based on trust.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the child well and understand the child’s needs. The staff work closely with external specialists who help develop strategies to support the child in a consistently therapeutic manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff closely support the child to maintain important family relationships. They regularly travel a considerable distance so that the child can have positive time with their family. This supports the child’s sense of identity and emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives effective healthcare. Staff ensure that the child has access to routine services as well as specialist care in relation to ongoing health conditions. The manager ensures that the child’s medication is constantly reviewed by appropriate specialists to ensure it meets the child’s changing needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has high attendance at school and they are making good progress. The manager has worked hard to maintain effective communication with education staff, which helps to ensure that the child continues to receive effective support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child benefits from an active lifestyle and regular fun and enjoyable activities. These provide opportunities for the child to develop social skills and explore new interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Direct work is meaningful and supports the child’s emotional well-being and behavioural development. However, direct work tends to be carried out in a standard format. Due to their age, the child may benefit from a variety of formats and, therefore, alternative approaches to key work should be explored.

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

The child lives in a safe and comfortable home. They are cared for by safely recruited staff who have a good knowledge of safeguarding.

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

The manager works closely with a range of professionals. There are regular multi- agency meetings to review risks to the child’s safety and well-being and ensure that strategies remain effective. This helps to protect the child from harm.

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

Risk management is effective. Staff have a good understanding of the child’s needs and the action required to protect them. However, some risk management plans lack clarity. In addition, the home’s fire risk assessment does not reflect current practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621193 4 Risk management plans should be regularly reviewed and updated to support safe practice.

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

Clear boundaries help the child to develop safe behaviours. Staff understand the child and why they may behave in certain ways. External professionals regularly work with staff to review the child’s behaviour support plan. This plan includes clear guidance about the child’s behaviours and highly individualised strategies.

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

Physical restraint is only used to protect the child or those around them. There has been improvement in records relating to physical restraint, which are of a good standard and carefully monitored. This addresses a requirement raised at the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is highly child-centred and demonstrates a strong commitment to achieving good outcomes for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals speak highly of the home’s leadership and describe the manager as effective and proactive. The manager works well with external professionals. However, recent discussions with the local authority regarding changes to staffing levels relating to the child were not recorded. There was conflicting information in records about expectations and agreements were not clear. This could result in the child not receiving the correct service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a low turnover of staff at this home. This means that the child benefits from stability and consistency. The staff team is highly motivated and resilient and staff say they receive good levels of support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are effective arrangements for staff training. There is a mandatory training programme, which includes courses such as safeguarding and positive behaviour support. In addition, training specific to the child’s needs is provided in a range of formats, including workshops and training with external professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Due to increases in staffing levels, the manager has needed to use agency staff at times. There is a small pool of agency staff who support the home so that the child continues to benefit from consistency. However, on one recent occasion, over half the staff on duty were from an agency. Furthermore, rotas are not always clear in who is leading the shift and about on-call arrangements. The manager has taken steps to address these matters.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths as well as areas for development. She uses monitoring systems effectively to ensure that standards of quality and safety remain high. She has recently reviewed processes with a view to better understanding the child’s experiences and outcomes. This will support the home’s continuous development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621193 5

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(a)) 23 December

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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 home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all risk management plans and the fire risk assessment are regularly updated in line with relevant changes. 23 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff consider the child’s age and needs when carrying out and recording direct work. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph 4.5)  The registered person should ensure that no more than half the staff on duty at the home at any one time, day or night, should be from an external agency. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.17)  The registered person should ensure that staffing rotas should clearly show shift leaders and the arrangements for on-call support. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20) Inspection report for children’s home: 2621193 6

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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: 2621193 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North West Youth Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: North West Youth Services, Peine House, Hind Hill Street, Heywood OL10 1JZ

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Inspector

Marie Cordingley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2621193 8 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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