Children's home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited in Calderdale

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has D eclined in effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

One out of four requirements from the last inspection has been fully addressed. Staff consistency in encouraging the young person to attend education has improved. They make every effort to get the young person up for school despite his reluctance to engage in certain aspects of his education programme. Positively, he is benefiting from some aspects of his individualised curriculum although attendance continues to fluctuate.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Medication management has improved. Staff are more diligent in ensuring the balances identified in medication records reflect the actual medication in the home. However, the quality of medication records continues to be poor. For example, staff are still not recording consistently when the young person refuses to take his medication or when he has not been given it due to being on home contact. This lack of management oversight and challenge of staff continues to have the potential to compromise the young person’s safety.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Internal monitoring continues to be weak. As at the last inspection there are a number of shortfalls with children’s records, which continue to be disorganised and of a poor quality in some cases. Monitoring activity has not been sufficiently robust to identify and address these shortfalls. For example, there are no minutes of the last looked after child medical on file and no evidence to confirm that future appointments are being pursued or what is being done to overcome the young person’s reluctance to engage with health professionals. Also, the home’s complaints log was not fully complete, although other records did evidence that the young person’s concern, which was effectively managed through allegation management processes, was taken seriously and addressed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The Registered Manager has not addressed any of the recommendations from the previous inspection. The young person continues to refuse to participate in fire drills. The home’s fire evacuation plan has been amended but still does not detail what action staff should take if the young person refuses to leave the building in the event of a fire. This could put staff and the young person at unnecessary risk because staff are unclear about what actions they should take to keep themselves and the young person safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

No action has been taken to identify or confirm a suitable arrangement for young people to be seen by an independent person should they go missing. There have been no incidents of this type since the last inspection but this continues to undermine the good processes that are in place.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff continue to persist in their efforts to engage this young person. This is a constant challenge for staff who work for long periods of time on their own with this young person who is extremely choosy about what he does and doesn’t do. They offer him plenty of recreational opportunities but his level of engagement continues to be low and person specific. Good work has taken place in the past which has helped the young person to make better life choices, in particular around keeping himself safe and refraining from offending behaviour. On the whole he has benefited from this placement which has provided him with some sense of stability. The organisation’s management team have recognised the stagnation and have been proactive in working with the placing authority with a view to exploring next steps for this young person.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is well maintained and suitable to meet the needs of the young person living there. He has been encouraged to personalise the home, in particular his bedroom. Staff clearly respect his private space but need to be more diligent in recognising hazards. For example, a halogen heater was removed from the young person’s bedroom at the request of the inspector. The heater, which had not been risk assessed, presented a potentially serious fire hazard. This had not been recognised by the manager or staff and had clearly been there for some time.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been one allegation since the last inspection. This was managed effectively including referral to external safeguarding professionals. The same diligence has not been applied in relation to the potential concerns relating to unauthorised use of the phone during the early hours of the morning. The matter had been dealt with through reparation, which had not been recorded in the sanction book. However, the manager had not made any enquiries about the nature of the phone calls to ascertain whether there was any risk posed to the young person. This was done by the operations manager on the day of the inspection. Neither has the manager challenged the member of staff responsible for not following the procedure in relation to the use of the home’s phone, which is to take it into the office at bedtime.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has clearly been an absence of effective leadership and management in this home. In the short time since the last inspection the manager has had a relatively long period of absence. The home has been covered by managers from other homes in the organisation but this has not afforded the oversight that is necessary to fully address the shortfalls from the last inspection, promote improvement and ensure the effective operation of the home. This has been recognised by the organisation, who have taken action to address the management inadequacies. At the time of the inspection the organisation was in the process of resigning the manager’s registration and appointing a new manager for this and another home which is to be run by the same manager. In the interim, an experienced manager is to maintain oversight, supported directly by the operations manager.

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Information about this children's home

The children's home is operated by a private company and provides care and accommodation for two young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

17/12/2015 CH - Full Requires improvement

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Recent inspection history

21/08/2014 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, in particular the standard in paragraph (1), the registered person must ensure-

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Requirement Due date

(2) (d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health.

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Requirement Due date

This is with reference to ensuring that the safety of portable heaters is risk assessed and specifically, that only equipment that does not present a significant fire risk is used in children's bedrooms. 10/03/2016

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Requirement Due date

12 The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard, in particular the standard in paragraph (1), the registered person must ensure that staff-

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Requirement Due date

(2) (a)(iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring any potential concerns relating to the unauthorised use of the telephone are fully explored in order to assess the level of risk posed to children. 10/03/2016

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Requirement Due date

13 The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, in particular the standard in paragraph (1), the registered person must-

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Requirement Due date

(2) (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvement in the quality of care provided in the home. 14/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, 14/04/2016 recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines into the children's home. In particular, they should ensure that an accurate record is maintained of any medication brought into the home. A detailed record should be kept of the administration of medicine to each child including when a child refuses or is not given that medicine. (Regulation 23 (1)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which are kept up to date. This is with specific reference to ensuring that all records are fully complete and maintained in accord with the homes policies and procedures. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)) 14/04/2016

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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 there is a procedure in place to provide independent return home interviews when a child returns to the home after going missing from care or away from home without permission, and that this procedure is agreed with each child's placing authority and fully recorded in each child's placement plan. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are potential safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis. This is with specific reference to ensuring that there is clear written guidance for staff about what action they should take if a child refuses to evacuate the building in the event of a fire. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for leading a team which provides high quality care for all children living in the home. They must lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home's Statement of Purpose. This is with specific reference to ensuring that sufficient oversight is maintained to identify and challenge shortfalls in staff practice. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 50, paragraph 10.4)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This 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 Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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,

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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