Children's Home run by Footsteps a Path to Change Limited in Cheshire East

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been a recent restructure in the home. The registered manager is now the responsible individual, and the deputy manager has attended a formal interview with Ofsted and is awaiting registration. Both managers have worked hard to address the requirements and areas of improvement from the last inspection. Managers now have a clear overview of the home, through the effective use of monitoring and review systems. The statement of purpose has been updated and includes details of all the new staff working in the home, and improvement in the case records of young people was evident. However, on occasions some staff had not always signed or dated case records. Managers are aware that this is an area for continued improvement.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people have made significant progress in all areas of their lives, including their education attendance and attainment. Young people now attend education on a daily basis, with attendances reported to be in the 90% range. This is a significant increase. One young person said, ‘Last time you came I hadn’t been to school for ages; now I go every day. I have made friends who come for tea and I know I’m going to do well.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people have been involved and consulted about changes to their home. This included a refurbishment of parts of the building, including each young person’s bedroom. Young people were proud to show the inspector their bedrooms and talked excitedly about the changes made. Young people have also been involved in the recruitment of new staff. This has included an opportunity to ask questions as part of the interviewing process. Young people feel that their views are listened to. They said, ‘We get asked about the food, activities, furniture, holidays and much more,’ and, ‘Sometimes, when we ask for something like a massive TV [television] or a big trip, the staff may tell us that is not possible, but at least they then explain why. Although we might not agree, at least we get to understand.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people have individual behaviour and risk management plans. These plans identify particular areas of risk to young people and the key services and strategies to reduce risk. For example, some young people are at risk of inflicting self-injury. In response, they have received specialist therapeutic intervention, supported by effective multi-agency planning. As a result, incidents have decreased. However, risk management plans have not always been updated when staff have become aware of additional risks for young people, including alcohol misuse or contacting unknown adults on social media. In addition, they do not include the strategies that staff are currently using to support young people to manage these risks on a day- to-day basis. Nonetheless, when risks for young people were discussed during the inspection, staff and managers showed that they were fully aware and had acted appropriately in response to all areas of concern. This was therefore shown to be a

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

recording a recording issue, which the manager rectified immediately. Managers had also identified records as a further area of ongoing improvement, and plans were in place to discuss this at the next team development day.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager and staff implement clear and effective boundaries regarding young people’s behaviour. This means that young people understand what constitutes acceptable behaviour. Due to this, there is little recourse to sanctions and more punitive behaviour management. Positive behaviour is rewarded and celebrated. For example, young people had received additional rewards and certificates when they had achieved success in areas of their lives, including the upkeep of their bedroom or independence tasks around the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

When physical intervention has been necessary, young people are provided with opportunities to discuss their views around the intervention, as are staff. These are then used as points of learning, to continually review and monitor practices in the home. However, the home has two systems for recording physical interventions. This includes a restraint logbook as well as a significant incident report. Inconsistencies in the recording within the two systems can be confusing and weakens the monitoring of staff practices. For example, dates were recorded incorrectly. In addition, the independent person had not noticed the errors in the records. This is a further missed opportunity to scrutinise records in the home, to ensure that they are factually correct.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, there have been two incidents when a young person has gone missing from the home. Staff acted appropriately and worked with all relevant professionals to locate the young person and support them to return home. Direct key-working sessions have been held with the young person to emphasise the risks at which they may be placing themselves, and an independent return home meeting was arranged. These are used as opportunities to review safeguarding practices in the home and ensure that young people are appropriately supported. One young person said, ‘When I came back they didn’t shout, but made sure I was safe and did not need anything else. They were upset, but more because they were worried about me.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Partnership working with safeguarding professionals, including the police and specialist missing from home and child sexual exploitation teams, is helping to keep young people safe. The home keeps young people’s social workers updated on any safeguarding concerns as they occur and provides them with copies of all incidents. One social worker said, ‘I am always updated about any safeguarding concerns. Staff work hard with young people to help them understand the risks in the community, or on the internet. They prioritise young people’s safety at all times, but also ensure they can see friends and have lots of new opportunities.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, all three young people have remained living in the home and are benefiting from consistent, supportive care. As a result, young people have built up positive relationships with staff, who understand their needs and interests. Young people said, ‘I never thought I would say it, but I like it here,’ and, ‘I feel safe and know staff care about me.’ In addition, staff have worked hard to significantly improve young people’s direct contact with their families and friends. For some young people, this now includes unsupervised contact at their family home. Young people also have their friends to visit at the home and they have stayed for meals and joined in activities, when appropriate. This has enabled young people to establish and promote positive relationships in their lives.

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately owned children’s home for three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 07/12/2016 Full Good 21/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/01/2016 Full Outstanding 02/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. Those undertaking the role should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 55, paragraph 10.24) In particular, if the information provided is inaccurate this will need to be challenged and amended.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that children's risk reduction and behaviour management plans are routinely reviewed and revised to include up-to-date information about assessed risks for individual children, and clear and comprehensive details of the specific steps that the staff will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 42, paragraph 9.5

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all children's case records are kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author of the entry. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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 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 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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