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Inspection report children’s home: SC064050 1 SC064050 Registered provider: Broadwood Residential Limited

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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 home is privately owned and run. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people who experience emotional and/or behavioural problems.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account Requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

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

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

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 would result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Date of last inspection: 14 November 2016

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home requires improvement to be good because: Inspection report children’s home: SC064050 2  Progress of the young people is variable across many aspects of their lives. The staff team’s practice and skills are not evaluated in line with the young people’s progress. As a result, any change required to the staff members’ practice is not identified, which reduces their ability to help the young people progress.  Suitable staffing levels have not been maintained so that there is consistency of care to young people, that staff do not work excessive hours and that all staff on duty have a full understanding of the young people’s needs.  Specialist services are not sought in a timely manner to ensure that the young people are offered support and assistance when they need it.  The manager’s and staff members’ understanding of locally based services is limited, which hinders appropriate networking, sharing of information and

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager and the senior managers are proactive with regards to understanding the home’s areas of improvement. There is an action plan in place to address identified shortfalls.  The young people receive support and encouragement to improve their life skills.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/11/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/05/2016 Full Good 05/02/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 23/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC064050 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

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that –

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to –

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; and

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a) and (2)(c), (d), (e) and (f)) 30/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationship standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on –

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure –

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans; 30/06/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC064050 4 help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11(1)(a) and (2)(a)(i), (iv), (vii) and (ix)) In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff –

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5(b)) 30/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure –

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8(1) and (2)(a)(iii) and (ix)) 30/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure –

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12(1) and (2)(d)) 30/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that –

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being. 30/06/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC064050 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure –

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10(1)(b) and (2)(a)(ii) and (c)) The registered person must ensure that within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person"), has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(b)(i), (ii) and (c)) 30/06/2017

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, ensure that records evaluating progress and risk assessments are kept up to date and that risk assessments are individualised and evaluative documents offering clear guidance and advice to all staff.  For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Staff should understand factors that affect children’s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13) In particular, ensure that staff

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Recommendations

regularly review and evaluate their means of communicating and working with young people for its effectiveness and consider a restorative approach to addressing the use of unacceptable behaviours.  The importance of who we are and where we come from is recognised in good social work practice, for example through undertaking life-story work or other Inspection report children’s home: SC064050 6 direct work. Staff in children’s homes should play a full role in work of this kind. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14) In particular, ensure that young people are actively engaged in contributing to their ‘memory boxes’ throughout their stay at the home.  Children should be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page

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Recommendations

22, paragraph 4.11) In particular, ensure that young people are consulted about sanctions, rules and expectations within the home and that young people’s meetings are recorded to reflect their full involvement in the running of the home.

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improvement to be good

Young people make variable progress while living at the home. Staff continuously encourage their engagement in education or training and have been responsive to young people’s requests for a change of tutors. This has not proved effective, and the young people are not attending education. Some young people seek employment as an alternative to training, and the staff give ongoing support and advice to help achieve this.

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improvement to be good

The young people present behaviours that reflect complex difficulties and backgrounds. Although staff offer consistency in their approach to supporting the young people to manage their anger and emotions, young people’s willingness to talk about their difficulties is limited.

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improvement to be good

The staff regularly offer their time and activities to the young people in order to forge trusting relationships. However, the working methods of the staff are not evaluated against the progress that the young people are making. Any necessary or potential changes to staff practice are not identified. As a result, some young people’s behaviour inside and outside the home is challenging.

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improvement to be good

Some young people engage with the specialist psychological support from within the company’s own resources. This assists by informing the young people’s care plans and identified areas of work. However, access to local drug and alcohol services and fire brigade educative work has not been timely. For example, initial progress that some of the young people made in relation to their drug misuse has not been sustained through continuing support from such services.

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improvement to be good

Some of the young people are successfully engaged in completing work to improve their life skills. They have achieved bronze awards with this work and regularly assist the staff with weekly tasks, such as food shopping. Inspection report children’s home: SC064050 7 The young people know how to make a complaint, and any complaints or allegations are dealt with swiftly and appropriately. Young people are actively encouraged to access independent visitors. The young people’s input is not sought with regards to the creation of ‘memory boxes’ that record their time spent living at the home.

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improvement to be good

Some of the young people have experienced a significant decline in their propensity to go missing from home. As a result, they are physically and emotionally safer from unknown influences while they are missing. When the young people do go missing, the staff understand and follow the reporting procedures and are active in liaising with other agencies.

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improvement to be good

Although staff understand the risks associated with the young people’s behaviour, assessments are not cross-referenced, and opportunities for greater analysis are missed. In addition, some risk assessments have not been updated. This limits the staff’s insight, especially for agency staff who are less familiar with the young people.

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improvement to be good

The young people who are new to the home made significant progress with regards to reducing their drug misuse. However, this positive progress has not been sustained, and access to services to support this level of progress has not been sought in a timely way. In addition, previously requested educative input for the young people from the fire and rescue service has not been followed up. As a result, opportunities to prevent and improve the young people’s understanding of those risks have been missed.

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improvement to be good

The staff consistently promote expectations regarding the young people’s behaviour and employ approaches to avoid the young people’s actions escalating. The manager appropriately reviews any incidents requiring physical intervention and provides feedback to staff regarding improving practice. However, the manager has not sought an independent review from a ‘designated person’ when she herself has been involved in the intervention.

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improvement to be good

The young people are not unnecessarily criminalised for their behaviour. The staff are patient and demonstrate a compassionate understanding towards the young people’s difficulties in managing their emotions. However, work with the young people following incidents of conflict is not always effective at preventing reoccurrence. Restorative approaches in the home are not employed, and the use of a sanction is not effectively evaluated. The young people are not actively consulted when staff impose a reparation for unacceptable behaviour; nor do staff take a collaborative approach with the young people when establishing rules in the home.

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improvement to be good

Although improved bedtime routines are now established for young people, practice regarding the removal of games consoles at night-time has not been firmly established from the outset. This has created possible avoidable discord between the staff and young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC064050 8 The home is reasonably well maintained, although there are areas of repair that require attention to remove trip hazards, such as securing the floor covering in the dining area. Some areas in the home are worn and damaged, such as missing spindles in the staircase and chipped and scuffed paintwork throughout. In addition, guidance regarding the storage of food has not been subject to regular monitoring by the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She has been registered to manage the home since 2016.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staffing at the home since the last inspection has undergone significant personnel changes. Until very recently, the home was insufficiently resourced and failed to ensure that the staff did not work excessive hours or that the staff covering core-staff shortfalls thoroughly understood the needs of the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

This has resulted in some documents not being updated and the capacity of the staff to evaluate and reflect on their work with the young people has been curtailed. As a result, young people have not benefited from any changes in staff practice that this process brings about.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The young people make variable progress, and some initial progress made has not been maintained. Local services are not identified or sourced quickly enough to support the young people’s progress. Although internal specialist services have been consulted, this has not been within appropriate timescales. In addition, these internal services do not benefit from locally based information-sharing networks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Professionals reported that there is suitable information sharing from the staff and the manager, and appropriate attendance at meetings. Concerns regarding the young people’s welfare and their progress are regularly shared with professionals, and this assists with developing appropriate care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive suitable levels of supervision and training. The manager is both visible and supportive of staff. Staff reported that there is an open culture to learning and that there is appropriate challenge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager and senior managers are aware of shortfalls in the care and services offered to the young people, and there are plans in place to address those weaknesses.

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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 differences made to the lives Inspection report children’s home: SC064050 9 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 whom 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: SC064050 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Broadwood Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Keys Attachment Centre, Hurstwood Court, New Hall Hey Road, Rawtenstall, Lancashire BB4 6HR

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Inspector

Pauline Yates, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC064050 11 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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