Children's home run by Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 1 SC036298 Registered provider: Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides a short-break service for up to five children with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and complex health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2022 Full Good 09/11/2021 Full Inadequate 01/07/2019 Full Good 11/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their short breaks. They are cared for by a long-standing staff team that knows them extremely well. The staff provide individualised care, and this is a real strength of the home. The staff are passionate and speak with pride about the work they do, such as providing good-quality care and experiences. Children are introduced to the service through a series of tea visits. These introductions are tailored to each child and done at their pace. One parent said, ‘Staff understand the anxieties that we feel as parents and go above and beyond to include us.’ Equally, staff support children to settle into new placements when they leave the home. This ensures that children gain confidence in their new surroundings and maintain relationships with staff. Children are suitably matched together, taking into consideration their individualised needs. However, the manager should ensure that he provides a clearer rationale in

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

understanding the impact of children’s stays together. A recommendation has been made to address this. The home is maintained to a good standard. There are arrangements in place to have a new kitchen and there is planned maintenance to doors and hallways. Children’s bedrooms are personalised with their choice of bedding, and pictures are displayed on the bedroom walls. The children have access to a range of specialist equipment that they require to meet their needs. One parent said, ‘Staff provide a homely and relaxed atmosphere. They bring a sense of calm.’ Staff are child-focused and provide a range of activities that they know children will enjoy, such as swimming and trips to parks and zoos. These experiences ensure that children make the most of their stays in the home. Furthermore, the children’s experiences are evidenced by photographs of them taking part in a range of activities. This provides children with memories and gives them a sense of

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

belonging. Although children do not reside permanently at the home, staff regularly visit education settings and take part in children’s reviews. This effective partnership working ensures that they are fully aware of children’s educational needs. Staff support children to communicate effectively with them. This helps children to make choices. Various communication tools, such as picture exchange systems, are used effectively. Recently, staff have received training in using Makaton. This training provides staff with specific skills to meet children’s individual needs.

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

Safeguarding practice in the home is good. All staff are in the process of completing training specific to children with disabilities. This ensures that staff have the required Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 4 knowledge to keep children safe. Furthermore, staff understand all children’s risks and know what action to take should a child protection concern arise. The storage and administration of medication in the home are safe. All staff are suitably trained. One parent said that, when there have been queries about medication, staff have been quick to follow up to ensure that her child is kept safe. Additionally, the manager took immediate action when he was alerted to a medication error during the inspection. Both the manager and responsible individual are working with the local authority designated officer to investigate the matter. The manager ensures that fire practice in the home is safe. Each child has a

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

personal emergency evacuation plan that provides staff with details on the support a child requires in the event of a fire. All staff are suitably trained in fire safety and awareness. Staff promote positive behaviour and parents said that they appreciate the staff’s resilience in helping their children overcome barriers to change. Restraint practice is used on a minimal basis and only as a last resort. Incidents of restraint are well recorded, and the manager is in the process of introducing a new debrief form that uses pictures. This will further enhance the child’s voice in incident and physical intervention records. One new member of staff has been recruited since the last inspection. The manager ensures that safer recruitment principles are followed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new manager and new responsible individual have been recruited since the last inspection. The manager had worked in the home for several years as the deputy manager. He is experienced and qualified. Staff are positive about the changes the new manager has made. They said that they feel valued and that they work well together. Leaders, managers and staff are passionate and enthusiastic about the care they deliver. One parent said, ‘The staff go above and beyond to check in with all the family, not just the boys.’ Children’s achievements are celebrated through ‘star of the week’. The new manager is committed to driving improvements in the home. He ensures that children’s plans are bespoke and child-centred. These plans are much improved since the last inspection. However, the manager must ensure that there is a clearer process for the reviewing of documents, as some of the children’s plans are not always reviewed

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

regularly and some records do not include staff signatures and dates. Furthermore, children’s daily reports do not always contain information that is helpful to the child. The registered manager has produced a report about the quality of care at the home, which identifies the areas for development. However, this does not include direct feedback or opinions from children, their families, stakeholders or staff about the quality of care provided in the home. Furthermore, there is no suitable action plan in place. This does not provide an opportunity to capture feedback to improve Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 5 the quality of care provided and a plan of how this will be achieved. This is a repeat requirement. Staff have opportunities to undertake training that develops their understanding, knowledge and skills around the individualised needs of the children, including needs associated with epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder and feeding methods. Staff are

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

pleased that team meetings are more regular. The addition of senior team meetings provides additional oversight. This helps to ensure that there is effective communication and information sharing between managers and staff. Handovers are detailed and informative. There are good induction procedures in place and regular supervision sessions provide helpful opportunities to discuss the children’s needs and staff development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 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 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 signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all children’s daily plans, missing-from-care plans, moving and handling plans and personal evacuation plans are regularly reviewed, signed and dated by the author. 7 April 2023

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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

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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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. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 7 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a detailed way. The information should be factual and must always be recorded in a way that is helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs and provide a clear rationale to demonstrate they have fully considered the impact of the child’s placement on the existing groups of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: SC036298 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Oriel Road, Bootle, Merseyside L20 7AE

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Inspector

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 9 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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