Children's Home run by Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council in Knowsley

Inspection report for children’s home: SC037657 1 SC037657 Registered provider: Knowsley 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 children’s home provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

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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: SC037657 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/04/2022 Full good 11/01/2022 Full requires improvement to be good 24/04/2019 Full good 19/04/2018 Full good Inspection report for children’s home: SC037657 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children are currently living at the home. Before moving in, the children visited the home several times and were also able to bring their families with them to visit the home. This helped to reduce their worries about moving in and ensured that children were prepared for their arrival.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have good relationships with children and understand their needs. Children enjoy spending time with the staff, both in the home and out in the community. Children take part in lots of positive activities to develop their interests and hobbies. One child is regularly going Morris dancing, and her achievements in this are celebrated by the staff and her family. One child enjoys football and he is supported by staff to attend weekly training sessions and matches at the weekend.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s families are regularly invited to the home to have meals with their children. This provides children with opportunities to spend time with their families. Staff recently supported one child to go on a planned holiday with her sister. Staff also support one child to see their mother and siblings even though they live a long distance from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making good progress with their education. They both attend school full time and since living at the home their school attendance has improved. One child had not attended school for over two years before moving into the home. Now, due to his regular attendance, his educational needs have been assessed and he will be starting a more specialist provision to meet his needs in September 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are good arrangements in place to meet the health needs of both children. The manager ensures that the children have access to specialist support as required to meet their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are involved in their day-to-day care. They are consulted on menu choices and activities. The children are starting to develop independence skills, and the home has a child-friendly workbook in which the children can show their progress in developing age-appropriate life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are proud of the children’s achievements. Each child has memory books which record their family time, activities and holidays through photos and positive comments. This enables the children to look back with their families over the good times they have had.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carry out direct work with children in response to specific incidents. Currently, this is a reactive approach, and the manager has recognised the need for staff to be more proactive and planned in their approach to identifying and implementing support. This is specifically in relation to supporting children in developing their emotional resilience. Inspection report for children’s home: SC037657 4

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

Children feel safe. They trust staff and can talk to them about any worries or concerns. Staff have a good understanding of each child’s needs and potential risks. Risk management plans are in place and these are regularly reviewed to make sure that they reflect the current risks.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. They have access to an independent advocate who visits the home regularly. There has been one complaint made by a child. The manager ensured that this was dealt with appropriately by involving other professionals. The child was kept informed throughout the process.

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

Staff respond appropriately to any missing-from-home incidents. They actively look for the child and involve other professionals to ensure that the child is quickly located. After each event, the manager ensures that the child has access to an independent advocate to discuss what happened.

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

Children are supported to manage their behaviour appropriately. Physical intervention is only used at a last resort. Children are involved in discussions about the strategies to help them manage their behaviour.

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

The manager works with other professionals to help keep the children safe. The children have access to specialist support services to help them to understand and reduce their risky behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a manager who has high aspirations and expectations for the children. During her time as manager, she has implemented a new monitoring system, which has improved the oversight of the care children receive. The manager has a good awareness of the strengths of the home and of the areas that need further development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed positive relationships with other agencies. She maintains regular contact with other professionals and has built effective working relationships with families to ensure the children’s needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a consistent team of staff, who are child-centred and have a good understanding of the needs of the children. The staff feel supported and recognise that the home has improved under the leadership of the current manager. One staff member said, ‘There is more consistency and improved routines for the children.’ The staff feel they have an input into the running of the home, and this is evidenced in team meetings, where the staff are able to raise any issues or concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular training. They receive a full induction when they start and there is ongoing mandatory training. This helps them to gain the necessary skills and knowledge for their role. The manager has also brought in external trainers to Inspection report for children’s home: SC037657 5 deliver specific training to the staff team. This ensures that they can provide care and support for children with specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff receive regular professional supervision. This gives them an opportunity to develop and reflect on their practice. Annual appraisals have taken place, but these do not cover the staff’s roles and performance. Inspection report for children’s home: SC037657 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children.

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background.

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(iv)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that staff carry out regular planned direct work with children. 28 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC037657 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. As part of the performance management process, poor performance, if identified, should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC037657 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Knowsley MBC, Children’s Services, Huyton Municipal Buildings, 6th Floor, Huyton, Knowsley, Merseyside L36 9YU

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Inspector

Simon Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC037657 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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