Children's Home run by Nurture Support Services Limited in St Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: 2711439 1 Registered provider: Nurture Support Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

No children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been registered with Ofsted since March 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged inadequate at full inspections on 16 and 17 May 2023 and Inspection report for children’s home: 2711439 2 13 and 14 July 2023. Compliance notices were issued under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000. These compliance notices were in relation to Regulation 10, Regulation 12 and Regulation 13.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the full inspection on 13 and 14 July 2023 Ofsted issued a notice restricting accommodation at the home. This notice was in effect from 14 July 2023 until 6 October 2023.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 20 July 2023 to monitor the compliance notice in respect of Regulation 10. Ofsted found that the provider had taken sufficient action to meet this compliance notice.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A further monitoring visit took place on the 17 August 2023 to monitor the compliance notices in respect of Regulation 12 and Regulation 13. Ofsted found that the provider had taken sufficient action to meet these. Inspection report for children’s home: 2711439 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/07/2023 Full Inadequate 16/05/2023 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2711439 4

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improvement to be good

Only one child has lived at the home since it was registered in March 2023. The child moved out of the home in September 2023. This move was not well planned. The child left the home without the level of support in place that she needed. The child experienced a traumatic ending to her time at the home.

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improvement to be good

Manager and staff reflected on the child’s experiences of living in and moving on from the home. This is informing the planning for any new child that may move into the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff had some success in supporting the child to engage in education. Staff communicated regularly with the child’s education provider. However, records have not been updated following statutory reviews. This means that staff do not have access to the up-to-date and accurate information they need to fully support children’s education.

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improvement to be good

Staff promoted the child’s physical and emotional health need. Children are supported to maintain good physical health. Staff support children to access specialist support to meet their emotional needs. They advocate on behalf of children to receive the support they require.

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improvement to be good

Staff provided the child with opportunities to engage in activities and hobbies. The child was supported to join local sports teams and organised activities. The child was supported to join local sports teams and organised activities and to engage in voluntary work and other groups in the community. This means that children can develop new interests and friendships in the community.

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improvement to be good

The child was supported to spend time with their family and those important to them. Staff developed strong relationships with family members and, when needed, offered advice to them on how to manage the child’s risks and behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always take prompt action to manage known risks. This means that the child was not always safeguarded from risks posed within the local community. As a result, the child was able to access local areas that posed significant risks to their physical safety.

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improvement to be good

Staff worked hard to get to know the child. This helped them to understand the child’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. In some instances, staff were able to recognise changes in the child’s behaviour and adapt their practice to provide additional support in times of crisis or distress. However, on other occasions, staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2711439 5 were not able to identify triggers for the child’s behaviour and therefore were unable to put in place the required support. As a result, before the child moved out, incidents of challenging behaviour escalated.

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improvement to be good

When the child went missing, staff took appropriate action to locate them. Staff followed agreed safety plans and liaised with relevant professionals to locate and safeguard the child.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments do not contain accurate information and have not been consistently updated following incidents. Furthermore, the assessments of risk do not reflect the severity of some risks posed to the child.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of physically holding children were rare. When incidents occurred, management oversight and scrutiny of incidents were thorough. However, debriefs with the child did not include a record of their views on the interventions used.

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good

The home does not have a registered manager. A suitably qualified and experienced manager has been recruited. She is not yet working in the home. In the absence of a manager, the home is overseen by the responsible individual, director and deputy manager.

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good

Children are cared for by a stable and consistent staff team. Leaders value staff well-being. Staff say morale in the home has improved and that they are supported well. They are now provided with clear direction and leadership. Staff feel valued and empowered in their roles. They are involved in decision-making in respect of the care provided to children.

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good

Staff have now undertaken training in several topics relevant to working with children with complex needs. Specialist training has been delivered in the home. Leaders acknowledge the benefit of staff undertaking in-person training sessions. This means that staff have access to more meaningful training experiences. One member of staff commented that a specific training session they attended was ‘eye- opening and insightful’ in supporting children with complex needs. However, staff new to the home have not undertaken all the relevant training.

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good

Staff benefit from regular and reflective supervision. Staff spoken to say that practice issues are addressed sensitively and constructively. Team meetings take place on a regular basis. These provide staff with opportunities to reflect on practice and incidents. They are provided with opportunities to be involved in planning for new children moving into the home. This helps to identify whether staff have the skills needed to meet children’s specific needs.

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good

Oversight of the care provided in the home has improved during this period. Following incidents, reflective scrutiny is undertaken by leaders in partnership with staff. This helps to improve practice. However, the statement of purpose has not Inspection report for children’s home: 2711439 6 been reviewed and shared with Ofsted following changes to the staffing of the home. Furthermore, the quality of care review has not been completed and shared within regulatory timescales.

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good

When children are involved in the criminal justice system, staff work in partnership with professionals to ensure that children are supported in line with their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2711439 7

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii)) 15 November

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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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)(a)(i)(b)) 15 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2711439 8 Specifically, that the registered person ensures that children’s records accurately reflect their individual risks and are maintained with up-to-date and accurate information.

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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)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that records of debriefs reflect that children have been spoken to and that their views have been obtained. 15 November

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that the home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The registered person must ensure that there are systems in place to monitor and review practice in the home and that all staff employed including bank staff undertake relevant training. 15 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2711439 9 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.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality-of-care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)) 15 November

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 15 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2711439 10

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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: 2711439 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurture Support Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 35 Prescot Road, St. Helens WA10 3UF

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Inspector

Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2711439 12 regulates and inspects 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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