Children's home run by New Start in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC409738 1 SC409738 Registered provider: New Start 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 provider. It provides care for up to four children who are unable to live at home due to emotional and social difficulties. Four children currently live in this home. Two children were on holiday at the time of the inspection. The other two children talked to the inspectors during the inspection .

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager at the home.

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 requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 21 September 2022

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: SC409738 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/10/2021 Full Inadequate 14/07/2021 Full Inadequate 10/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC409738 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care from staff who know them well and understand their needs. This promotes positive and nurturing relationships that support children’s progress and general well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When a child moves into the home, the move is well planned. A decision-making tool shows that the manager considers the child’s needs, history and behaviour and the needs of the existing children in the home. However, the manager has not considered potential risks in the local area and whether these would have any bearing on the suitability of the placement.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in this home have different levels of communication and understanding. Staff work closely with the children’s health professionals to ensure that they understand their communication and care needs. For example, when one child came to the home, their speech was significantly delayed. They can now say a range of new words and make their wishes and feelings known.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress with their education, health and behaviour. This is confirmed by comments from a range of professionals and parents. Records that are kept in the home show the progress that children are making, but do not always include how staff have supported them. This is important so that children can review their journey in adult life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education, and they develop effective relationships with education providers. The children attend a variety of different education settings. Staff have all the necessary education documents to support the children’s progress. This is consistently reviewed.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities on a day-to-day basis to engage in enjoyable and fulfilling activities. Staff recognise and encourage children’s individual talents and interests. Children take part in a range of activities, such as going on walks and bicycle rides and visiting theme parks. Several children attend clubs, such as Guides. This supports them to develop skills, have fun and build positive friendships.

p.3

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

Children said that they are safe at the home. One child said, ‘I can talk to staff about anything.’ Another child said, ‘They will give me a cuddle when I am upset.’ As a result, children have positive and trusting relationships with staff in the home. It is clear from the interactions between the children and staff that children can talk to staff about important issues.

p.3

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

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting the children. When serious incidents occur, the staff team is adept at managing them safely. Inspection report for children’s home: SC409738 4 Good levels of supervision mean that children have not been reported missing from this home. Staff understand what to do if this was to occur, because there are clear protocols to follow.

p.3

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

Good records are kept if a child has needed to be physically held to keep them safe. Children and staff take part in debrief sessions, so that they can learn from the incident. The manager evaluates all incident records to look for patterns or trends. Staff practice is discussed and altered and routines are changed accordingly. However, when consequences are given, the reason is unclear. The acting manager has not looked at the effectiveness of the consequence or evaluated it. As a result, it is not clear whether each consequence was fair or necessary.

p.4

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

Children understand how to make a complaint. Generally, complaints are investigated quickly and resolved. However, on one occasion, a child did not receive a response to inform them of the outcome of their complaint. The acting manager recognised this and responded on the day of this inspection.

p.4

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

Careful recruitment processes ensure that staff are suitable and safe to work with children. Children live in a well-maintained home that provides them with space and privacy. However, some areas of the home require a deep clean, such as the staff and children’s toilets.

p.4

good

The registered manager resigned the week before this inspection. The responsible individual has responded quickly and put an interim manager in place. A new manager has been identified and they are waiting for their recruitment checks to be completed.

p.4

good

There is a full staff team at the home. Some staff are qualified and experienced in childcare. New staff complete an induction and a three-month probation period before being registered on a recognised childcare qualification. However, as part of this process, some staff have not completed mandatory training, such as first aid, restraint training and substance misuse training. This does not ensure that staff have all the necessary skills to care for children well.

p.4

good

Team meetings and supervision are held regularly and are practice related, evaluative and reflective. In contrast, appraisals for individual staff have not been completed. This this does not allow for their practice, training or development needs to be considered.

p.4

good

The manager works collaboratively with a range of external stakeholders and parents. A professional said, ‘Both young people are really settled, which is fantastic. I feel this is because all the staff really care about the children and make them feel safe and supported. It is a very nurturing environment.’ A parent said, ‘I feel confident to contact the home, my child’s behaviour seems to have reduced Inspection report for children’s home: SC409738 5 drastically and the home shares all information with me.’ All parties recognise the progress children are making at this home.

p.4

good

Internal monitoring requires improvement. The responsible individual has completed an audit of the home since the registered manager left. She has identified similar shortfalls as the inspectors, in the children’s paperwork, training and the development of staff. She has put together a development plan so that these areas can be improved.

p.5

good

The requirements and recommendations made at the assurance visit in March 2023 have mostly been addressed. However, a recommendation was made to ensure that the children’s documents use language that the children understand. There are supporting documents that continue to include words such as dysregulated, heightened and proactive. Therefore, this recommendation has been repeated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC409738 6

p.5

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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.6

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))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive training in first aid and restraint and around substance misuse. Further, that the development plan is followed. 30 September

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.6

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

p.6

Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(c)) 30 September

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC409738 7 within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

p.6

Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

p.7

Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

p.7

Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

p.7

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that consequences are recorded and reviewed in line with regulation.

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11) Inspection report for children’s home: SC409738 8  The registered person should ensure that children’s needs are clearly recorded in their plans and that language used in records is helpful to the child so that they can understand what they mean if they read them later. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the safer area report is used when considering a new referral to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.23)  The registered person should ensure that children live in a homely environment that is cleaned thoroughly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including

p.7

Recommendations

the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered manager should ensure that the steps taken by staff to secure good progress and outcomes for children are clearly recorded in their documents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

p.8

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: SC409738 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: New Start Limited, 179 Townsend Lane, Clubmoor, Liverpool L13 9DY

p.9

Inspectors

Pam Nuckley, Social Care Inspector Nicola Forrester, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC409738 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

Inspectors

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

Inspectors

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

p.10

Inspectors

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

p.10