Children's home run by 2nd Nurture Limited in St. Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 1 SC454265 Registered provider: 2nd Nurture Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provider care for one child. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties or a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2013.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 13 February 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/01/2022 Full Good 11/09/2019 Full Good 28/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently at the home has lived there for several years. There are positive relationships between the child and the small, stable staff team. The inspector observed warm and relaxed interactions between the child and the adults caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager appropriately challenges the local authority when there are delays in receiving plans for the child. Actions and information from these documents are incorporated into the child’s care plans. This ensures that the staff work together with other professionals to promote the child’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote the child’s relationship with a parent, and the parent now visits the home more frequently. The parent said that this is helpful and spoke about also having a good bond with the staff. The child’s social worker commented on how the child is ‘extremely happy’ that the staff arrange for their parent to visit them at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff attend all relevant meetings about the child’s education and support the child to attend school to achieve their potential. The child also enjoys attending Marine Cadets and has developed friendships there outside of school. Activities support the child to develop social skills and to enjoy new experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is encouraged to lead a healthy lifestyle and to take breaks from indoor activities, such as computer games, and spend time outdoors. The child helps staff to prepare meals and is enjoying trying new foods. However, information about the child’s health is stored in different locations, which can make it difficult to follow.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team considers and responds to the child’s wishes and feelings sensitively, particularly regarding their perception of the effects of being a child looked after. They recognise that some language used in documents is not child-friendly and are planning to change this. Staff discuss the child’s requests at team meetings and respond promptly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager plans to improve the home environment and outside areas. Some repairs are also needed to shower fittings to prevent potential water damage and make the bathroom more attractive.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the child’s risks and vulnerabilities and have appropriate strategies in place to respond effectively. There have been no significant incidents, complaints or safeguarding concerns since the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 4 The child says that they feel safe living at the home and can talk to any of the staff about any worries or concerns. When the child raises issues about events outside of the home, for example at school, the staff communicate well with education staff to address them. The staff also work with the child to help their understanding of how their behaviour may affect how others respond.

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

The staff use incentives to promote positive behaviour. There has been no need to use negative consequences to manage the child’s behaviour. The recording format of consequences has been changed to meet the regulatory requirements.

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

Staff have completed online safety training so that they can identify and address any issues that may arise when the child accesses the internet. Staff follow agreed protocols to check that the child is safe online, but the protocols and checks made are not recorded clearly in the child’s documents to evidence practice.

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

A clear and progressive plan was put in place to encourage the child to become more independent in using public transport to meet friends. This means that both the child and staff were confident about the child’s ability to travel safely and keep in touch.

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good

The staff say that they feel well supported by the experienced manager. There is a positive ethos and clear communication within the team that provides a consistent approach for the child.

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good

One member of staff has completed the relevant residential childcare qualification, and the remaining staff are being supported to achieve this within timescales. The staff are up to date with mandatory training and specific training to meet the child’s needs. However, the manager should check that the staff maintain their knowledge and skills to ensure that they would respond effectively, particularly to infrequent events.

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good

The staff have regular, reflective supervision. However, records do not always include a review of actions set to develop staff practice. Members of the staff team have now had an annual appraisal of their performance. However, this has not taken place for the manager, to promote her continuous professional development.

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good

The statement of purpose needs updating to accurately represent the care provided and to reflect current terminology. The manager took steps to address this during the inspection.

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good

Monitoring and review systems remain a weakness. This undermines the ability of leaders and managers to have effective oversight of practice in the home and to drive improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 5 A requirement was made at previous inspections to improve the quality of consultation and evaluation in the manager’s report on the quality of care provided to children. The manager has not needed to submit a report since the last inspection and therefore this requirement is carried over.

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good

A recommendation is also repeated in relation to the independent person’s report. This is due to Ofsted receiving only one report in the period since the last inspection, providing insufficient evidence of improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 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, 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.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that the staff have the knowledge and skills to respond effectively, particularly to infrequent circumstances. Leaders and managers should have in place effective monitoring systems to ensure that the day-to-day practice and running of the home are overseen to drive forward improvements. 20 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this relates to the manager’s annual appraisal of performance, to identify further professional development. 20 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 7 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

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must improve the evaluative content of the report through gathering feedback from stakeholders and including actions to drive forward improvements in the home. The registered person must ensure that reports are sent to the regulator within timescales required by regulation.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 20 August 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should ensure that expectations of standards of behaviour are clear and unambiguous. Positive behaviour and relationships should be encouraged, with strategies clearly recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11)  The registered person should ensure that repairs are made around shower fittings to prevent water damage and to improve the bathroom’s appearance. (‘Guide to Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 8

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Recommendations

the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose accurately reflects the care provided in the home and uses current terminology. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that children’s records are kept up to date and enable the child to understand how they were protected and cared for, including clear records of their health and checks made by staff to keep them safe. Use of outdated language should be avoided. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: SC454265 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: 2nd Nurture Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 64 Nathan Drive, Haydock, St Helens, Merseyside WA11 0GW

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Inspector

Karen Willson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC454265 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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