Children's Home run by Crystal Care Solutions Limited in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC480594 Inspector Hannah Bates Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Crystal Care Solutions Limited Registered person address Nelson House, Boat Horse Road Kidsgrove STOKE-ON-TRENT ST7 4JA Responsible individual James Maxwell O'Leary Registered manager Alan Davies Date of last inspection N/A 2 of 8 Inspection date 10/02/2015

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Previous inspection N/A Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people good Quality of care good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management good

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Overall effectiveness

The home is good at keeping young people safe. Young people’s risk taking behaviours decrease. There is good management of risk and missing from care protocols are rigorously adhered to. Strong partnership working, particularly with the police, means that there is a multi-agency response to risk management which is effective.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people make good progress. They engage in education and get to enjoy new experiences such as nail art and yoga. Young people engage with proactive behaviour management strategies. Staff work diligently to build positive relationships with young people. This promotes their self-esteem.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff are equipped to manage high risk behaviours. They receive ongoing professional input and training specifically in the area of child sexual exploitation. This means that young people receive good quality of care.

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Overall effectiveness

There is strong management oversight of the running of the home. The Registered Manager is experienced and knowledgeable of child sexual exploitation. This knowledge is used to equip the staff team with the skills to manage the complex needs of the young people. 3 of 8 This is the first inspection of this new provision. This inspection has raised two recommendations. 4 of 8

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned by a private company.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure children have access to independent advice and support from adults who they can contact directly and in private about problems or concerns, which is appropriate to their age and understanding. Children know their rights to advocacy and how to access an advocate, and how to contact the Children’s Rights Director (NMS 1.15)  ensure all staff and volunteers understand what they must do if they receive an allegation or have suspicions that a person may have: a. behaved in a way that has, or may have, harmed a child; b. possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child; or c. behaved towards a child in a way that indicates he or she is unsuitable to work with children. Ensure that the required actions are taken, or have been taken, in any relevant situation. (NMS 20.1) 5 of 8

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people make good educational progress. Their engagement in education and attendance has improved. For example, young people who were not attending education prior to their placement now attend and engage with daily tuition within the home. They are working towards gaining their GCSE qualifications. This improves their self-esteem.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people learn to talk about how they feel. They invest in relationships with staff and start to develop strategies for talking about difficult issues, such as around their long-term care plans. Young people have strategies in place for helping them manage difficult conversations about their care planning. An education tutor said: ‘They are a lot more settled. Their anger has died down a lot. They used to kick off but now they are calmer. They communicate and seem to have developed calm relationships with everyone. They can put their frustrations across’.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people enjoy learning new skills. They access the gym, yoga classes, and football. There is equipment for learning nail art within the home. A rewards system is in place and young people can work towards piano lessons or other activities that they want to try, so they get to have new experiences. This benefits their self- confidence.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people have good physical health. They discuss any health issues with staff or health professionals, such as the specialist children’s nurse, who is actively involved in their health care. Young people adopt a healthy lifestyle within the home, for example through good diet and exercise. Smoking is strongly discouraged. Young people attend their basic health care appointments and have access to weekly psychological support through onsite therapists. Therapists and staff work together to encourage and promote the engagement of young people with therapeutic support. This promotes young people’s life chances.

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Quality of care good

Young people’s risk taking behaviours decrease. Whilst there continues to be some incidents of young people going missing, staff manage these incidents effectively. They work in partnership with agencies such as the police and placing authorities to ensure that risk management is robust. Risk management plans are continuously updated with strategies that incorporate the views of other safeguarding agencies. Staff make sure that young people are clear about the rules and expectations of their behaviour. They provide consistent boundaries and care to young people. 6 of 8 Staff provide a nurturing and supportive environment for young people. They work closely with a therapeutic team in order to learn to integrate a therapeutic approach to the daily care provided to young people. Staff listen to young people and advocate for them. An Independent Reviewing Officer said: ‘The strength of the home is their

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Quality of care good

understanding of the young person’s needs and how other factors influence and impact on her emotionally. Staff are good at helping the young person to understand the messages being given to the placing authority regarding the long term care plan’. Multi-agency working is starting to be embedded into staff practice. This ensures that consistency of care planning is achieved.

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Quality of care good

Staff know the young people and their needs. They form good quality relationships with young people and try to enable them to have a sense of belonging. Staff say: ‘I think that we have an easy going environment – young people feel relaxed and at ease here and they can talk to staff if they need to. This is their home, they are living here and they need to feel that. I think we do this really well’.

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Quality of care good

Staff celebrate young people’s cultures. They encourage the development of positive identity and support young people to explore their heritage. For example, staff have bought cooking equipment at their request so they can cook their favourite foods. This promotes the identity and cultural needs of young people.

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Quality of care good

The home is well maintained and spacious. It is secure and young people say they feel comfortable. Staff ensure that young people have access to their hobbies in the home. For example: a sewing kit; a smoothie maker, and gym equipment. This helps young people invest within the placement.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff are committed to keeping young people safe. Missing from care and self-harm protocols are robustly followed. Staff are vigilant at ensuring that young people are monitored and kept safe. Physical interventions are low and used as a last resort. Staff focus on de-escalation techniques and engaging young people in other ways of managing their emotions. Young people have debriefs after incidents and talk to the police after missing incidents. Prompt repair, after any damage, ensures that young people live in a nice, safe environment.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people’s risk taking behaviours have decreased, specifically, missing from care. Staff adopt a multi-agency approach to managing risk. They work closely with local police prior to, and during, young people’s placements. There is a focus on the prevention of incidents through strong communication between relevant professionals to ensure robust risk management strategies in place in the event of any missing from care episodes. This promotes young people’s safety.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people use advocates to express their wishes and feelings regarding their long term care planning. Staff regularly discuss young people’s views regarding the 7 of 8 placement and try to implement their views as much as possible within the running of the home. This helps young people to feel listened to. However, while young people know how to make a complaint, they do not have access to a means of making an independent complaint without having to involve staff should they wish to.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff are safely recruited within the home and have good knowledge of child sexual exploitation. They are recruited for their experience, knowledge and understanding of working with young people with high risk behaviour. Any allegations regarding staff practice are managed quickly and robustly, in liaison with the Local Authority Designated Officer; although staff knowledge of when to refer to the Local Authority Designated Officer is not consistent throughout the team. High staffing ratios promote the safety and wellbeing of young people.

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Leadership and management good

The Registered Manager is qualified at level 5 in Leadership and Management and has experience and knowledge of working with high risk behaviour, including child sexual exploitation. This is incorporated into the running of the home and the development of the staff team.

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Leadership and management good

There is good management oversight of staff practice. For example, supervisions are completed regularly and are of good quality. The Registered Manager completes monthly audits as well as the quarterly management overview in line with Regulation 34. This ensures that young people receive a consistently high level of care. There are good training and development opportunities for staff and ongoing training by the therapeutic team in relation to the young people’s emotional needs. Team meetings provide an opportunity for ongoing professional development, as well as reflecting on practice issues and the needs of young people. This promotes the development of the staff team which in turn ensures that young people receive good quality care.

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Leadership and management good

The home’s Statement of Purpose is clear and the home operates within it. The Registered Manager has completed a development plan which provides clear targets for the improvement of the home. The Registered Manager has sought a specially commissioned assessment of the location and security of the home. This promotes the safety of the young people.

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Leadership and management good

The Registered Manager has established good working relationships with the police. This has ensured that any safeguarding incidents have been resolved quickly with strategies put into place to reduce any future incidents. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management good

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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Information about this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the framework of inspection for children's homes.

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