Children's Home run by Carlisle Mencap Ltd in Cumbria

Inspection report children’s home: 1247386 1 Registered provider: Carlisle Mencap 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 home is registered by a charitable organisation to provide care and accommodation under short-break arrangements for six children. The home is registered for children who may have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities.

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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 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children’s home: 1247386 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff know each young person extremely well and care is tailored to young people’s individual and specific needs.  Young people make measurable progress in the home, targets are set in line with their ability and broken down into smaller tasks that are achievable. Young people are motivated to progress and achieve and this is celebrated through rewards and certificates.  Interactions between carers and children are warm and show how well staff know and understand young people.  Admissions are well planned with high-quality pre-placement activity, which ensures that staff have good knowledge of young people before they commence their tea visits and overnight stays. Likewise, transitions are planned carefully and the home has developed close links with the social work transition team.  Young people’s risks are understood and well managed. Staff manage any challenging behaviour confidently and clear behaviour support plans give

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Key findings from this inspection

detailed instructions of how to best support young people. There is minimal use of restrictive physical intervention and no use of sanctions.  Staff receive training in specific areas in line with young people’s needs, for example oxygen administration, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feeds and individual physiotherapy requirements.  Staff feel well supported by managers through training, supervision and daily support. Managers lead by example and frequently cover care shifts when the need arises to ensure that there are high ratios of staff to young people.

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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

 The exterior of the home is in need of attention to ensure that it is clean, well maintained and safe for young people to make full use of. Some internal areas, where paint has come off the walls, need re-painting.  Although all staff have significant experience and have been working in the home for lengthy periods, they do not all have the required diploma level 3 qualification in residential childcare.  Records of physical intervention do not currently meet requirements. Although records are made of any restrictive physical intervention, they lack the required details.  The suitability review of premises does not contain any information from relevant agencies and is, therefore, incomplete. Inspection report children’s home: 1247386 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

N/A this is the first inspection after registration by the current provider.

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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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard the registered person must ensure that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(2)(c)(i) ) Specifically, that garden areas of the home should be well maintained, the outside of the home should be clear of any objects which could potentially cause harm to a child, and play area surfaces are free from moss. 18/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual if the individual has the appropriate experience, qualifications and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England). (Regulation 32 3(b) and 4(a)) 18/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes: the details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; details of any methods or steps taken to avoid the use of the measure and; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered 18/08/2017 Inspection report children’s home: 1247386 4 person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so— has spoken to the user about the measure; 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(a)(ii) and (v), (b)(I) and (ii) and (c) ) When conducting the review of premises the registered person must consult and take into account the views of each relevant

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Requirement Due date

person. (Regulation 46(2)) 18/08/2017 Inspection report children’s home: 1247386 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy coming to the home for their short breaks. In questionnaires, they consistently report that they are happy in the home, they like the activities on offer and have positive relationships with staff. Parents and social workers likewise report being very happy with the service and are confident that staff meet young people’s needs to a high level. One social worker reported, ‘It is a massively valuable resource to families. I have no concerns at all and the rest of the social work team who use the service speak very highly of it.’ Staff have good knowledge of young people’s individual needs. Some young people have highly specific needs linked to complex conditions, and every effort is made to ensure that staff understand their condition and how to provide treatment. Staff are often trained in very specific areas in order to meet particular personal needs. Examples are physiotherapy regimes, PEG feeds and oxygen administration. Parents feel confident that

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

staff understand and are able to implement complex medication and care routines. Parents therefore feel that they are leaving their child in safe hands and can enjoy their short break free from anxiety. Staff at the home develop close relationships with parents and professionals who are involved in young people’s lives. They maintain contact with parents through a two-way communication book, they attend regular team around the family meetings for some young people, and reviews. This promotes a multi-agency approach to meeting the family’s needs. Social workers spoke positively about the home’s adaptability and understanding, as well as its response to prioritising certain families’ needs for short breaks on a more regular or more urgent basis, depending on their family circumstances. Parents are invited into a regular coffee morning and a parental advisory group has been set up to ensure that parents are involved in implementing and developing the service.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager also sends out a regular newsletter keeping parents and professionals informed about the service. Co-ordinator roles are allocated to staff in areas such as health, education and culture, which develops their expertise that they then share amongst the team. This helps to ensure that young people’s needs are met in all areas. Young people make progress during their short-break stays. They are set targets in conjunction with their parents, social worker and school. Targets are broken down into smaller tasks and staff support young people to achieve the tasks to reach the bigger target. Young people are motivated to succeed and are rewarded with certificates when they reach their goal. One young person is working towards a Gateway award and has already made significant progress in evidencing a new hobby. The home recently held a competition for young people to design a new logo. The winning entrant was proud of

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

his achievement and the logo will be used through the home and on all the home’s Inspection report children’s home: 1247386 6 stationary. Young people have a range of communication levels and difficulties. The home takes account of this and is creative and tenacious in ensuring that it gets the views of young people about the home and their short breaks. Young people’s meetings, feedback forms and surveys evidence that consultation is taken seriously and young people’s views are taken into account. Placement admissions and transitions are very well planned. This is a particular strength of the home. Admissions are via a county panel. Once a young person’s placement is agreed, staff start collating a significant amount of information about the young person’s care needs, their interests, likes and dislikes. Parents are encouraged to visit the home, staff visit the parents at home to gather information, and the young person commences

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

with short visits before progressing to overnight stays. This process ensures that both the young person and their parents/carers become confident and comfortable in knowing the home can meet their needs. The home has a transitions co-ordinator, who meets with local authority transition workers every three months to ensure that transitions out of the home are well managed. Key workers meet with local authority transition workers and share information prior to a young person moving on from the service when they reach 18. The home is purpose built and serves its function well. A newly installed jacuzzi bath with lighting and music is proving to be very popular with young people. The exterior of the home is in need of some maintenance so that full use can be made of it. For example, the sensory garden is overgrown, the soft surface of the play area has lots of moss growing on it, and there is an unbuilt shed, still in pieces, at the side of the home,

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

all of which detract from the home being a welcoming environment.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Risks to young people are identified in the placement planning stage, before a young person commences their short breaks. The identified key worker for a child collates information regarding risks from a range of sources and uses this to develop a clear risk assessment, which is well followed in practice. Young people receive a high level of support and supervision in the home through high staffing ratios. This ensures that young people are not left unsupervised and, therefore, the risk to young people in the home and in the community is minimised. The home compiles individual risk assessments for each activity the young people undertake, so any specific risks are identified and mitigated. Where young people present with high risks in respect of their behaviour, the home works in a proactive way to try to address the risks. Where this is not possible, the placement is reviewed and concluded if this ensures the safety of young people and

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

staff. Young people do not go missing from home, nor do they have risks in respect of drug and alcohol misuse, criminal activity or radicalisation. Although some young people would be vulnerable to child sexual exploitation due to their disability, the home provides them with high levels of supervision in the community and online to reduce this risk. Inspection report children’s home: 1247386 7 Young people have individual fire risk assessments to enable staff to understand how to evacuate in the event of a fire. Fire drills are practised periodically and, on admission, each young person is educated about what to do if there was a fire. Young people with mobility difficulties have clear manual handling risk assessments to ensure that they are moved safely. The home rarely resorts to restrictive physical interventions with young people, which shows that it can manage challenges and de-escalate behaviour. The one record of

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

physical intervention was not sufficiently detailed to enable the reader to understand the circumstances leading up to and following the incident. The record did not meet the standard set out in regulation and, therefore, a requirement is made. Staff are all trained in team teach, and one member of staff is a coordinator for this area. Each young person has an individual behaviour support plan, which clearly sets out what staff can do to intervene should a young person’s behaviour begin to escalate. This is a useful document with clear strategies of intervention identified at all levels, and is a proactive tool for managing young people’s behaviour. The home has not used any sanctions, which indicates that it manages behaviour in a positive rather than a punitive way. Many young people require medication, while some have complex medication regimes. The home has robust procedures in place for the recording of medication into and out of

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

the home. Medication administration is completed by two staff, who both sign the medication administration record. There are no errors recorded in the administration of medication. Although none of the young people attending this home are considered to be at risk of radicalisation or extremism, staff are completing online training in prevent and deter to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to identify any risks in these areas. The home has undertaken a review of premises to identify any location risks. It has been highlighted in the independent visitor reports that this assessment does not include information from other agencies, but this has not yet been rectified. Therefore, a requirement is made to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a very experienced manager who is invested in his role and determined to deliver a high-quality service. He shows commitment to the young people, their families and his staff team, communicating his expectations of high standards. He is supported by two deputy managers and a very experienced staff team. The young people benefit from a very stable staff team, with any changes being extremely rare. Managers strive to ensure that young people enjoy their stays, as well as try to make a difference in young people’s lives by helping them to make progress on each visit. There is good understanding of the progress young people are making and targets are regularly reviewed. Young people’s views are sought on a regular basis and are used to inform the care they receive. Staff spoken to reported staff morale to be good. Staff enjoy their work and feel well Inspection report children’s home: 1247386 8

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

supported in their roles through supervision, team meetings, and development and training. Managers organise specific training with partner agencies, such as the community nurse, where there is a need to ensure that staff are fully trained in the procedures they need to carry out to meet young people’s needs. Staff development is progressed through training and taking on co-ordinator roles. Key workers take responsibility for gathering information and devising young people’s plans. Most staff are qualified to diploma level three in residential child care. However, some staff who have worked at the home for more than four years are not yet qualified, although they are currently enrolled on the course. A requirement is made to address this to ensure that all staff have the appropriate qualification. The home develops highly positive partnerships with external agencies. Social workers speak very highly of the home, and the local police community support officer has been

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

to visit, as has the community nurse. This ensures that young people receive co- ordinated holistic care. Most parents also report highly positive relationships with the home. Parents are happy with the service and report that staff at the home communicate frequently with them. The home’s management understands the home’s strengths and areas for development. There is a detailed development plan in place. The manager has recently been covering care shifts due to staff sickness and, therefore, has not had time to action some recommendations identified in the independent person’s reports. However, his focus on prioritising the correct staffing levels has not detracted from an overall solid management team and a well-run home. The home meets the young people’s equality and diversity needs well. Although there is little cultural variation in the young people attending, managers are aware of this and try to ensure that diversity issues are considered. The home’s development plan covers this

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

area, and a member of staff has been assigned a coordinator role to develop young people’s understanding of culture and diversity. The home is achieving its aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose, which has been recently updated to reflect the change of service provider. Inspection report children’s home: 1247386 9

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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: 1247386 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Carlisle Mencap Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Carlisle Mencap Ltd, Unit J3, Duchess Avenue, Kingmoor Park North, Carlisle CA6 4SN

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Inspector

Charlie Bamber, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1247386 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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