Children's Home run by Total Care Matters Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report children's home: 1232200 1 Registered provider: Total Care Matters Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care for up to three children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 23 November 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Requires improvement

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people are making progress and they are having positive experiences that improve the quality of their lives. They have good relationships with staff and they feel safe and happy. Inspection report children's home: 1232200 2  Young people are kept safe because risk is well assessed, clearly documented and well managed.  The home is now fully staffed with a permanent staff team, and the use of agency staff has ceased. Consequently, young people experience an improved consistency of care and support.  Good partnership working is used effectively to improve young people’s outcomes. This includes challenge when there are deficits in service provision.  The manager uses a variety of monitoring systems to enable her to understand the impact of the service and the difference it is making to young people’s lives. This leads to improvements in practice.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 There have been shortfalls in practice and record-keeping in relation to a potential safeguarding incident. This did not have a negative impact on the young person concerned, but improvements are required to ensure that young people are appropriately safeguarded at all times.  When young people are absent from the home without permission, or they are missing, the manager cannot demonstrate that she has requested a return to home interview. Consequently, opportunities to prevent such incidents in the future may be lost.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/11/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children's home: 1232200 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

(2) In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure that staff: (a)(vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. 31/05/2017

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the procedure is followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and in particular, provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34(2)(d)) 31/05/2017

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject of a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. This is with reference to demonstrating that such interviews have been requested and followed up. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are making progress as a result of living in this home. They benefit from positive relationships with staff and consistent care and support. One young person summed this up by saying: ‘I’ve never felt this happy or this safe before.’ Staff know and understand the needs of young people well, and are clearly committed to meeting them. A parent said: ‘They are doing a wonderful job. They are calm and relaxed and empathise.’ Although some young people continue to exhibit behaviour that, at times, provides staff with a significant level of challenge, this is decreasing in frequency and Inspection report children's home: 1232200 4 intensity. A parent commented: ‘This has really improved. She is much more thoughtful and aware of what she is doing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s views and opinions are valued. They are encouraged to participate in residents’ meetings and key-worker sessions, as well as to express their opinions on a day-to-day basis. They influence the meals they have, the activities in which they partake and how the home is run. Whenever possible the manager acts on young people’s expressed wishes. For example, a young person asked to have some Japanese food, and this was followed up by the manager. She also asked for a drum kit, and one has been purchased. Young people also know how to complain, and have done so on one occasion. This was dealt with appropriately, and to the satisfaction of the young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s health needs are well met. They attend regular appointments and access specialist and emergency services as necessary. Their physical and emotional well-being has improved as a result. Young people also engage in a wide variety of activities, some of which promote their good health and their involvement in the community. The activities include going to the cinema, attending a youth club, playing football, cycling and visiting high-energy activity centres.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person’s educational needs are not being addressed; however, this is not due to the actions or inactions of the home. The home has facilitated and supported all the educational arrangements that the local authority has provided, and has challenged it to increase this further. This includes challenge at a senior level.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are enabled to have positive contact with their families, and for some this has improved. One parent expressed gratitude that the home enabled and supported them to spend time with their child at Christmas and on her birthday, thereby promoting more positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Achievements are celebrated well. Staff give a lot of praise when things go well and progress is made. Young people’s successes may also involve being given the opportunity to do an extra activity, or receiving a more tangible reward. Young people’s self-confidence and self-esteem improve in response to praise and rewards.

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improvement to be good

Although young people are generally kept safe in this home, one particular incident was not handled well. Staff did not follow the safeguarding procedures in a timely way, and the record of the actions taken is not detailed enough to give a clear explanation of decision-making, or an accurate timeline of events and actions taken. The young person concerned did not come to harm, but there is potential for this to happen in the future unless these shortfalls are rectified. There has been learning from this incident, including improved managerial support in the absence of the registered manager.

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improvement to be good

Young people occasionally have unauthorised absences and go missing for short periods Inspection report children's home: 1232200 5 of time, despite the best efforts of staff. There is a clear protocol to follow, and this is implemented in practice. Staff search for young people and contact the police if they cannot be found. There is, however, no evidence that return to home interviews have been requested or carried out by someone independent of the home. As these interviews and the subsequent reports may provide important information to enable the home to prevent or minimise such incidents occurring in the future, opportunities are lost if these interviews do not take place.

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improvement to be good

Risks are well managed through comprehensive risk assessments that clearly address all known and identified areas of potential concern. These risk assessments provide staff with written guidance to enable them to identify possible warning signs and triggers, and to implement strategies to prevent or minimise risk. As a result, young people are as safe as possible. Any incidents of self-harm, for example, result in a review of the risk assessment, and further preventative actions are identified. These are discussed in staff meetings and handovers, as well as being documented. Young people are receiving the necessary support to promote their emotional well-being, and there is prompt liaison with relevant professionals to gain further advice about how best to support and manage these issues. A parent said: ‘Staff have worked really hard to keep her safe.’

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improvement to be good

Young people who have complex behaviours are being supported to reduce the challenges they bring. Although physical intervention and consequences for negative behaviour are used on a regular basis, this is reducing. Physical intervention is used appropriately, it is subject to managerial monitoring and oversight, and staff are debriefed to ensure that they can reflect on the incident and learn from it. Positive behaviour is rewarded and the record reflects both positive and negative consequences. As a result, young people are developing a better awareness of how to manage their behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. She is supported by a relatively new staff team, including a new deputy manager. This is a positive development since the last inspection, when the home was staffed by using a significant number of staff from employment agencies. Although the manager tried to minimise the impact of this by requesting the same staff, it was not without its difficulties. There is now a permanent staff team, some of whom have a significant amount of relevant experience gained elsewhere. All staff, except those just appointed, are either undertaking the relevant qualification or have already obtained it. Care and support are therefore being provided by a consistent, competent staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to providing the best possible care and achieving the best outcomes for the young people in the home. She uses a range of monitoring systems to enable her to understand the strengths and shortfalls of the service, and where improvements can be made. Monitoring includes gathering detailed data on various elements of young people’s behaviour. The monitoring systems provide both pictorial and numeric representations of the data. This process is currently being developed further to provide better analysis, as well as tangible information that will enable young Inspection report children's home: 1232200 6 people to celebrate their achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported. They have regular supervision that enables them to reflect on their practice. Now that there is a permanent staff team, the manager is committed to holding more regular staff meetings that incorporate elements of training as well as discussion about, and reflection on, young people’s progress. The company has developed an improved training programme that includes specific relevant training, such as attachment, grief and loss and self-harm. Most staff have completed mandatory training, and identified gaps are being addressed promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good partnership working results in the provision of effective support. One stakeholder said: ‘I am able to build a relationship with the young person because of the support she receives from staff.’ Partners comment that communication is good and that they are made aware of any issues. Prompt information sharing promotes consistent care and support. Parents also feel valued and included. One parent said: ‘They are good at telling us what is going on.’ However, the manager is prepared to challenge partners when there are deficits in service provision, and has done so on a number of occasions. These include challenging education arrangements and specialist support in relation to emotional well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Seven requirements and three recommendations were made at the last inspection. These have all been satisfactorily addressed, resulting in young people experiencing better, safer and more structured care and support delivered by a more consistent and competent staff team. Record keeping has also improved, to demonstrate better accountability.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children's home: 1232200 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Total Care Matters Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 230 Bathley Street, Nottingham NG2 2ER

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Inspector(s)

Ros Chapman, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 1232200 8 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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