Children's home run by Social Care Services Limited in Stockport

Inadequate

There are serious failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 The provider closed the home in August 2016 following the registered manager leaving. It re-opened on 5 December 2016 with a new staff team in place. However, staffing and recruitment issues in the organisation mean that the home is staffed by new, inexperienced staff team members who do not all possess the qualifications, experience or skills to safely support the two young people in their care.  The manager is often on shift in the home due to the inexperience of the staff team. This prevents him from having the necessary time to lead and monitor the home effectively. There was evidence during the inspection of a lack of management oversight of the home, which has resulted in a number of shortfalls being identified.  There is poor risk management within the home. Individual risk is not adequately identified, understood or managed by staff, leaving young people at risk of significant harm.  Staff do not spend time with young people undertaking direct work to

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

encourage the young person to understand the individual risks that they face. This means that staff do not support young people with the risks associated with their behaviour.  Not all staff have completed therapeutic crisis intervention (TCI) training which is the model that staff are directed to use to manage any challenging behaviour displayed by young people.  The manager does not ensure that Ofsted is notified of serious incidents and this prevents Ofsted having the necessary oversight in knowing that young people are safe and protected.

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The children's home strengths

 Staff are proactive in supporting young people’s contact with their family so that young people develop a strong sense of identity.  Young people attend activities out of school such as cadets and a youth group, giving them the opportunity to develop confidence and social relationships.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children's needs are met In order to engage with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met the registered person must ensure: (c) if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. 03/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered provider must ensure that: (2)(a)(i) staff 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. In particular, ensuring that risk assessments are accurate and up to date. 03/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must: (2)(c) ensure that the staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and (e) ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child. 03/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

14: The care planning standard In order to ensure that the care planning standard is met the registered provider must ensure that: (1)(a) children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. 03/03/2017 16: Statement of purpose The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review, notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days. 03/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

33: Employment of staff (4)(b) The registered provider must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision. 03/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records (2) The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. 03/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

36: Children's case records (1) The registered person must maintain records for each child which— (a) include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to a child. 03/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

40: Notification of a serious event (4) The registered provider must notify HMCI without delay if— (b) an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. 03/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

45: Review of quality of care (1) The registered provider must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children at least once every 6 months. 03/03/2017

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Information about this children's home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is part of a social care company .

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 01/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/12/2015 Full Good 12/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/09/2014 Full Good

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Inadequate

The home has recently been re-opened after a period of closure. There are currently two young people living in the home. This home is staffed by a newly formed staff team. Most of the staff team members are new to the organisation and have little or no experience of working in social care. The manager has not completed impact assessments in respect of the young people who have been admitted to the home. This means that their ability to successfully live together has not been assessed. Young people’s individual risk has not been identified and accurate assessments have not been made regarding the suitability and experience of the staff team to meet the young people’s needs. There is limited information on young people’s case files and consequently the manager and staff do not have all of the necessary information about the young people that they care for. This significantly limits their ability to support young

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Inadequate

people or plan effectively for their care. Staff do encourage young people to do their own washing and tidy their bedrooms but the need for young people to start to develop more comprehensive skills for independent living is not contained in any plan. The manager reported that they have ‘not started any independence work with them as X and X are likely to be leaving in a few weeks’. This shows a lack of planning and means that young people are not being prepared with the skills that they need for adulthood. Good behaviour is not recognised or rewarded. There is no consistent reward system in place for young people and therefore it is unclear for young people what they are working towards and what behaviour is expected from them. The lack of clear plans means that the staff team does not respond consistently. Consequently, young people do not receive clear, consistent boundaries from the staff caring for

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Inadequate

them, making it difficult for them to understand what is required. The manager has not ensured that there is guidance for staff about what sanctions to use for individual young people. For one young person who was found with a Swiss army knife in school, the response recorded in his key work session was ‘to look at incentives or activities being withdrawn’. This is vague and not a clear plan for staff to follow. This means that young people do not receive a clear, consistent response from all staff or learn to link consequences to their behaviour. There is no system for reviewing additional measures of control, which have been put in place. One young person has been placed on supervised spends, meaning that he can only spend his pocket money with a staff member present. There is no clear plan for how long this will remain in place and what is needed to be achieved for these to go back to being unsupervised. This means that it is not clear to staff

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Inadequate

or the young person how long this additional measure of control will be in place and what is required for this to be lifted. This reduces effectiveness of such a sanction and does not assist young people to learn behaviour that is more positive. Staff give education a high priority and ensure that young people attend school. When young people do not have a school place, staff are proactive in working with education professionals to obtain an educational placement for them and this means that both young people in the home now have school places. This ensures that young people have routine in their lives and are given the opportunity to meet their educational potential. A lack of education information on young people’s case files means that there is no record of young people’s educational attainment or progress. Staff ensure that young people attend activities such as cadets and youth group and support this attendance by transporting young people to do activities some

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Inadequate

distance away. This means that young people have the opportunity to develop new skills, confidence and social relationships. Staff work effectively with health professionals to promote health and well-being, for example all young people are registered with a GP and dentist promptly on their admission to the home. This ensures that young people’s health needs are met. Staff work hard to promote young people’s contact with their families when it has been carefully risk assessed. This has resulted in one young person having contact with his mother after a significant period without contact. As a result, young people develop and sustain a sense of identity and belonging.

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Inadequate

Young people are not fully safeguarded because staff do not identify, understand or manage risk. Risk assessments lack sufficient detail of individual risks for young people and do not identify what actions staff should take to support young people to reduce risk. For one young person who had recently been found under the influence of alcohol, there was no written detail of this or how such a situation should be managed in the risk assessment. The inexperience of the staff team and the use of staff members from other homes increases the risk of harm in this situation, as there is no clear written plan in place detailing how staff will support, manage and monitor the young person, potentially leaving young people at serious risk of harm. Individual serious risks such as fire setting had not been identified in risk assessments. As a result, staff did not identify this as a risk associated with the young person and there is no written plan detailing how this risk will be managed

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Inadequate

to reduce the risk of harm to staff and young people. The manager accepted the shortfalls in risk assessments in the home and while some steps were taken by the manager to rectify these during the inspection, there were still gaps in the risk assessments regarding what actions staff should take for specific behaviours for example no actions were identified for the management of sexualised behaviour, which is identified as a risk for one young person. Staff do not help young people to understand their risk-taking behaviour, for example no key work sessions have been undertaken on behaviours such as cannabis and alcohol use and no direct work took place after a significant incident for one young person. This does not demonstrate that the necessary action was taken to help the young person to understand the risks inherent in this behaviour or show that staff are proactive at trying to reduce further risk of harm.

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Inadequate

Some staff do not fully understand how individual risk should be managed. This was evident from staff interviews. There was a minimisation of risk factors and some staff had no clear understanding of actions to take to manage individual risk. This leaves young people at risk and means that young people do not receive a consistent and effective approach from staff in managing risk. Most new staff members have not yet completed behaviour management or emergency first-aid training. New members of staff have not had any safeguarding training provided by the organisation, which means that they do not have the knowledge or skills to recognise and be alert to signs and young people may be at risk. Two new members of staff had been rostered on the rota together, meaning that there would be no one on shift who was trained in the behaviour model used in the home or first aid, leaving young people at risk. There are no clear individualised behaviour management strategies in place. Risk

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Inadequate

assessments include generic behaviour management strategies based on the therapeutic crisis intervention (TCI) model. This is the model which staff are directed to use to manage any challenging behaviour displayed by young people. Not all staff are trained in this TCI model, which means that not all staff have the skills to manage challenging behaviour or follow through actions in risk assessments which refer to TCI techniques.

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Inadequate

The home is managed by a suitably experienced manager who has been moved from another home in the organisation to manage this home when it re-opened. The manager and the deputy manager are regularly working on shift in the home to address the lack of experience and training of the staff team. While this supports the staff, it prevents the manager having the necessary time to lead and manage the home effectively, resulting in the significant shortfalls that have been identified in this inspection. When the manager and deputy manager cannot cover shifts they are moving more experienced staff from other homes to cover shifts when the needs arises. This does not offer continuity to the young people living in the home. The manager fails to ensure that staff working in the home have the necessary skills, experience and qualifications to meet the needs of the young people. As a result, young people are not always supported or protected effectively.

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Inadequate

The manager had a lack of understanding of one young person’s legal status. As a result, there is no delegated authority on file meaning that it is not clear whose consent needs to be obtained for medical consent in an emergency situation, which could have a serious impact on the young person due to delays in clarifying this in an emergency. The manager has not ensured that key documents are on young people’s files such as local authority care plans, delegated authority and personal education plans. This has a direct impact on the quality of care that each young person receives as planning is not effective due to lack of information. It also means that the staff team does not have a full understanding of each young person’s needs. There is little evidence on file of the manager following up missing documents with the local authority. The manager does not ensure that Ofsted is notified of serious incidents and this

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Inadequate

prevents Ofsted having the necessary oversight in knowing that young people are safe and protected. The manager has not completed a review of the quality of care for the young people within the last six months and the statement of purpose has not been updated since the home re-opened. This shows a lack of monitoring and oversight by the manager and means that he is not effective at evaluating the progress of the home or identifying any shortfalls in the care that young people receive. Most staff receive regular supervision. However, the manager is not recorded as having supervision since the home re-opened. This has meant a lack of oversight by senior management, resulting in serious shortfalls in the home, which have left young people at risk.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‘Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection’.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place. However, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of that harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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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 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

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Information about this inspection

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

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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