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

Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The manager has ensured that the young person has been sensitively supported with their transition into the home. This has helped the young person to settle into their new surroundings quickly and well.  The young person reported that they feel safe and comfortable, and that they get on well with the staff.  The staff have demonstrated their skills at building positive and nurturing relationships with the young person. This enables and supports the young person to make good progress from their starting point.  The manager supports the staff well. Staff confirmed that they can access additional help and guidance when they need to and reported that this helps to inform and develop their care practice.  The manager’s use of the internal and external quality assurance systems is sufficient. This ensures that the manager highlights and addresses any areas for development quickly and effectively. These processes enable the

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The children’s home provision is good because:

manager and staff to continue to enhance the experiences and progress for the young person.  The areas for improvement identified in the inspection relate to the young person’s risk assessments and case records, the recording, administration and disposal of medication received into the home, and the arrangements for reviewing the home’s location risk assessment.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meet(s) the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and ‘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

12: The protection of children standard (1) In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure that children are protected from harm. (2) In particular, the standard requires the registered person to ensure that– (b) 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. This is with particular regards to ensuring that the risk management plans clearly identify the young person’s individual and known risks and ways in which the staff will support and manage the young person during these times. 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medication received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23(1)) 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain (‘case records’) for each child which includes the information and documents listed in schedule 3 in relation to each child. This is with particular reference to ensuring that the details of any medicines which are kept in the home are recorded, and that a copy of the young person’s statutory healthcare plan, placement plan and the statutory provision, such as the care order, under which the child is provided with accommodation, are available in the young person’s case files. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(Schedule 3(8)(19)(25)) 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must consult and take into account the views of each relevant person when they conduct the review of the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purpose of the children’s home.(Regulation 46(2)) 28/02/2017

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to provide care and support for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. This home enlists the support of a clinical psychologist in the implementation of its care planning for the young person.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

04/02/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Good

The provider listens to and has appropriately supported the young person to move between their provisions when the young person requested this, and when it was safe and suitable for them to do so. The manager ensured that the placing authority was fully involved in the discussions surrounding the move and worked effectively with the authority to ensure that the young person’s transition was undertaken as soon as possible, once the placing authority has agreed to this. The young person was sensitively supported with their transition into the home. The manager understands the importance of maintaining the positive relationships that have been established between the young person and their key worker, and has maintained these nurturing and sustained relationships by ensuring that the key member of staff transferred into this home with the young person. In addition, the young person was in a position to benefit from a visit to the home before they

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Good

moved in. This enabled them to feel more comfortable and relaxed during this period of change. The young person’s views and opinions are central to everything that the home does. Staff are skilled at communicating effectively with the young person to ensure that they are consulted and listened to on all aspects of their care. This means that the young person is helped to grow in confidence, and is empowered to share their views and contribute to making decisions affecting their life. Effective relationships between the manager and education colleagues ensured that the young person accessed a suitable education provision as soon as possible after they arrived at this home. The manager has sustained good working relationships with the provider’s education facility, which ensures that the communication and package of care are effective in meeting the young person’s individual education needs. Although the young person has only very recently begun to attend school

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Good

since coming to live at this home, their attendance rates are good, and professionals confirm that there are some early signs of progress. The young person is making some good progress with their educational, social and psychological well-being in relation to their starting point. Specialist help continues to be made available to the young person in line with their individual needs and as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. The young person is supported to attend their weekly in-house therapy sessions, and to access routine health services and appointments as required. When additional health services are required, such as child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), the manager ensures that the necessary referrals for the young person are made so that additional services can be accessed quickly. The manager has ensured that the young person’s emotional health and well-being are considered and addressed appropriately, and that they are registered with the

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Good

generic health services. However, the manager has yet to make suitable attempts to ensure that the young person’s physical health needs are known and understood. Consequently, the young person’s health needs are not clearly recorded or catered for. This is because the young person’s health records are incomplete and do not include a copy of the latest statutory healthcare assessment. Furthermore, while the prescribing labels on these medications identify that these should be administered twice a day, these have not been administered to the young person while they have been living at this home. In addition, although two different prescribed medications are held in the home, only one of these is recorded in the young person’s medication administration records.

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Good

The young person confirmed that they are safe and kept safe by the actions of the staff team. The young person’s welfare in the home is promoted as staff are aware of the home’s whistle blowing policy. Furthermore, staff are aware of their safeguarding roles and responsibilities as they receive adequate training and updates. As a result, staff have a good level of awareness and understanding of the procedures that they must implement when disclosures are made or any safeguarding concerns are identified, and they respond to these appropriately and promptly. Staff demonstrate a good level of knowledge and understanding about the risks and vulnerabilities associated with the young person’s behaviour, and they are proactive in working with partner agencies to ensure that these risks are minimised and managed safely. The staff are clear about the young person’s risk and vulnerabilities and can verbalise the actions that they take in supporting the young

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Good

person during these times. However, the manager has not updated the young person’s risk management plan in regards to how the staff support the young person with their self-harming behaviours, and how they will be supported by the staff should they need to be physically restrained. For example, the staff were not directed to the correct place to locate the ligature cutters, should these be required, or directed to the physical holds that should be used, as the information was confusing and contradictory. The manager rectified these documents immediately during this inspection to ensure that the young person’s safety and well-being are promoted and maintained. The home’s procedures for recruiting staff are robust. Potential staff are subjected to a rigorous and challenging recruitment process. Relevant checks are undertaken prior to staff starting work, to ensure that they are suitable to work with vulnerable

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Good

young people. There have been no reports of this young person going missing from the home, or of physical interventions, complaints, safeguarding concerns or allegations against staff since the last inspection. Furthermore, a range of health and safety checks are routinely carried out by the manager and staff to ensure that the young person and staff continue to live in a physically safe environment.

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Requires improvement

This home had been closed for a considerable length of time, and there had been no young people living at the home since February 2015. The home reopened on 14 January 2017, following the admission of one young person, and has remained operational since. The manager, who manages this and another children’s home, is experienced and suitably qualified. She has been registered with Ofsted to manage this home since May 2007. The home is sufficiently staffed and resourced to meet the individual needs of the young person that it provides care for, and as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. The statement of purpose is kept under regular review and clearly sets out the ethos and objectives of the home. Child-focused therapeutic practice is embedded in the home’s philosophy, and this additional support enables the young person to achieve positive outcomes in many aspects of their lives. The registered manager has a clear understanding of the strengths and needs of

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Requires improvement

the home. She regularly reviews the home’s development plan, which identifies realistic targets and goals, and this supports her with the continued development of the service. The manager shows good learning from monitoring and inspection activity and ensures that any noted shortfalls are quickly addressed. For example, she and the provider have taken suitable action to address the two requirements raised at the last inspection. The registered person has appointed an experienced, knowledgeable and qualified staff team that has the skills to support this young person well. All but one member of the staff team hold the required childcare qualification and suitable plans are in place to support the remaining member of staff to complete this within the required timeframe. Thus, this young person is cared for well by staff who are qualified and understand their roles. In addition, the young person’s welfare and safety are enhanced in the home. This is because the

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Requires improvement

independent visitor now consults with the young person and their placing local authority during their scrutiny and evaluation of how well the manager and staff safeguard young people in the home and how well they support young people to progress. The one-to-one staffing arrangements enable the young person to receive a good level of individual support to ensure that their needs are sufficiently met. The young person is cared for by staff who confirm that they receive sufficient training, supervision and support from their manager, to carry out their work safely with the young person. Although the manager has completed a review of the safe area risk assessment, to establish the specific risks and details associated with the local area, she has failed to consult with other partner agencies, as is required by regulation. Consequently, the manager cannot be assured that she is fully aware of all the known risks in the

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Requires improvement

local area, which limits her ability to plan and identify how she and her staff team will support the young person safely against these risks. The young person’s case records are maintained securely in the provider’s new computer database and can be accessed by those who have authority to do so easily. However, the young person’s case file records do not meet the requirements in terms of their content. For example, they do not include the details of all the prescribed medications which are kept in the home, a copy of the young person’s statutory healthcare plan, an up-to-date copy of the local authority placement plan and a copy of the statutory provision, such as the care order, under which the young person is accommodated. This inhibits staff in their roles to support and enable the young person to understand and reflect on their history and past experiences, and to plan and prepare fully for their future.

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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 children looked after 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 harm or that 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 that 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 whom 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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