Children's home run by Trax Care Limited in Stockport

Requires improvement

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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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 The home has not had a registered manager for more than 26 weeks. There has been no clear leadership and management oversight is weak.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Newly recruited staff have had little induction to the home and have been placed in charge of shifts in the home prematurely.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Supervision arrangements for staff are weak. They are not receiving regular supervision in accordance with the organisation’s own policy.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Staff have not received sufficient training to meet the needs of the young people living in the home. Staff are working alone who do not have a recognised first aid qualification.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Staff were unable to manage one young person’s behaviour, resulting in complaints by the police and him moving on from the home in an abrupt and unplanned manner.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Young people are not being adequately prepared for their transition from the home.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Safeguarding notifications continue to contain insufficient detail of incidents.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 There was no independent visitor report completed for December 2016.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 The organisation’s missing-from-home policy contains insufficient detail regarding staff actions to prevent young people going missing, and staff were unclear about reporting arrangements.

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The children's home strengths

 The young person resident in the home says he feels safe there.

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The children's home strengths

 There have been improvements in the quality of risk assessments.

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The children's home strengths

 Staff promote young people’s contact with their family.

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The children's home strengths

 The young person has his family dog living in the home.

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The children's home strengths

 Home improvements were being completed during the inspection.

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The children's home strengths

 Senior managers are aware of the shortfalls and have plans in place to help address these.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that children receive care from staff who help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (2)(b)(vi)) 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that there is a registered person to 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. (Regulation 13(2)(a)) 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the children's home’s statement of purpose covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16(1)) 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31(2)(a)) 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction and that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development and receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(1)(4)(a)(b)) 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

34: Policies for the protection of children

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the missing child policy sets out the steps to be taken to prevent children from being absent without permission; and the roles and responsibilities of persons working at the home, in 31/03/2017 relation to a child who is, or has been, so absent. (Regulation 34(4)(a)(b)) 40: Notification of a serious event

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that notifications made to HMCI under this regulation include details of the matter. (Regulation 40(5)(a)(i)) Specifically, sufficient detail to demonstrate the seriousness of the incident. 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that an independent person visits the children's home at least once each month. (Regulation 44 (1)) 31/03/2017

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home is one of a number operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 12/12/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 17/11/2015 Full Good 18/02/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness 02/07/2014 Full Good

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Requires improvement

There is currently one young person resident in the home. He has lived in the home for a number of years and his family dog lives with him, in the home. He helps to care for his dog and there is clearly a bond between them. Since the last inspection, another young person has moved out of the home. His recent departure was a result of an escalation in his challenging behaviours. He moved without preparation following a serious incident. Generally, staff place little emphasis on the preparation of young people to move on from the home. Young people do not follow an independence programme. Consequently, they may be moving on from the home without emotional preparation or the skills they will require for independent living.

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Requires improvement

The former resident engaged well with the organisation’s practical-based educational provision, which was a significant improvement. His social worker commented, in feedback taken by the home, ‘You helped him believe that it was possible for him to achieve positive results in education, and develop skills for possible training in the future.’ However, there has been a decline in the current resident’s motivation to engage in education. He has attended approximately a third of sessions in this academic year. The young person says that he is repeating things that he has done before and he has lost interest in education. However, he is attempting to look for employment as an alternative. He received an invitation for an interview, at a fast food outlet, during the inspection.

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Requires improvement

Young people are registered with health professionals and have access to in-house therapy services. However, young people are sometimes reluctant to engage with health professionals. Despite an incentive approach being effective in the past, staff have not recently used this approach. Consequently, the current resident does have an outstanding medical appointment.

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Requires improvement

Young people benefit from a personalised placement plan that outlines their care needs. Staff also engage young people in regular key-worker sessions that encourage them to think about their actions and make the right choices.

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Requires improvement

Staff support young people to remain in touch with their family, appreciating the significance of these relationships for their future. They also have a good understanding of young people’s background and history. This enables staff to offer effective support when young people choose to discuss their history with them.

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Requires improvement

Positive relationships are evident between the current young person and the staff caring for him. There have been some recent staff changes and so these relationships are in their infancy. The young person will engage in some activities with staff. This includes going to the cinema and playing football. However, he does not engage in any community activities with other young people.

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Requires improvement

Good staffing levels ensure that the young person has ample opportunities to express his feelings and for staff to engage him in conversation about decision making in the home. However, the young person did raise a concern about the need for a rear garden gate, to ensure that his dog is safe when out in the garden. Managers gave assurances during the inspection that they would act on this immediately.

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Requires improvement

The young person says that he feels safe living in the home. He can identify an established staff member who he feels he can rely on, to raise any issues of concern with, if any were to arise. He knows how to make a complaint and has done so in the past.

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Requires improvement

The young person understands the rules of the home, and the expectations of staff about reasonable behaviour. Staff receive training in behaviour management, including the safe use of restraint. However, the number of physical interventions required is small. Records demonstrate the need for the intervention. Staff and young people receive support following any incident and the incident is subject to review, to see if lessons can be learned. However, it was difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of any sanctions imposed on young people as the record book could not be located during the inspection.

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Requires improvement

Personalised risk assessments help to inform staff about the specific areas of risk for each young person. This enables staff to respond in the most appropriate manner. These receive update following an incident of concern.

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Requires improvement

Young people do continue to engage in risk-taking behaviour, such as smoking tobacco and cannabis. Incidents of young people going missing from the home have also increased since the last inspection. Staff actions to prevent young people going missing are variable and not supported by a robust missing-from-home policy. In addition, missing records do not always reflect other records maintained in the home. Records do not demonstrate that staff always take the best course of action, or indeed report young people missing in a timely way. The police have raised concerns with Ofsted about missing incidents and safeguarding concerns since the last inspection.

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Requires improvement

There have been improvements made in relation to the staff vetting procedures since the last inspection. Further exploration has taken place into discrepancies in employment dates and additional references have been sought. This helps to ensure the integrity of those employed.

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Requires improvement

A range of health and safety checks are regularly completed and updated to ensure the safety of young people. The installation of a new door alarm system alerts staff to young people leaving their bedrooms during the night, so that they can take appropriate action to ensure young people’s welfare.

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Inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager for more than 26 weeks. The management arrangements in the home have been ineffective since the departure of the former manager on 1 May 2016. There has been one application to register a manager, but this was withdrawn prior to his registration. Another manager was recruited, but this person has also made the decision not to apply for registration. The organisation is in the process of recruiting a new permanent manager. However, in the interim, they intend to register the previous manager, who is currently managing elsewhere in the organisation and has a proven record of accomplishment. There is no deputy manager in this home to share the management duties.

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Inadequate

The last interim inspection of the home resulted in four requirements. Action has been taken to address the majority of the issues raised. For example, improvements are evident in relation to risk assessments; historical information was sourced on young people; and action has been taken to improve the vetting of staff. However, the detail of safeguarding notifications to Ofsted remains a concern, and this requirement is consequently repeated at this inspection.

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Inadequate

The supervision and support of staff is weak. Supervision is not undertaken regularly or at the frequency outlined in the organisation’s own policy. In addition, some records could not be located or contained details relating to other staff members. This practice does not promote staff development or enable them to reflect on their practice. Similarly, inadequate induction arrangements have left staff working in the home alone without adequate knowledge of young people, or of the organisation’s policies and procedures. This places them and young people in a vulnerable position. Similarly, while the organisation provides staff with a range of training opportunities, these are not always targeted to meet the specific needs of the young people or the home, for example training in drug awareness or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). As a result, staff are unsure if they are responding to young people in the most appropriate manner. In addition, some staff in charge of

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Inadequate

shifts in the home do not have a valid first aid certificate, in order to take the correct course of action in the event of a medical emergency. While the organisation took insufficient action to prevent this situation occurring, they have plans in place to remedy this in the near future. While senior staff working in the home are appropriately qualified, a number of care staff have yet to obtain a level 3 childcare qualification.

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Inadequate

There has been a recent review of the statement of purpose, to reflect the current staff working in the home. However, this document does not include reference to door alarms that have been fitted to monitor and safeguard young people.

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Inadequate

An independent person is appointed to undertake monthly reports on the operation of the home. Staff are then able to take action to address any issues identified. However, no such visit took place in December 2016. As a result, the home was unable to benefit from this independent scrutiny, which helps to drive forward improvement.

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Inadequate

The home is well located in a residential area of the town, close to public amenities. It is indistinguishable from neighbouring properties. Some re-decoration was being undertaken at the time of the inspection to improve the internal decor.

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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 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 0300 123 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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