Children's home run by Keys Cwc Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1245569 1 Registered provider: Crossways Care 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 children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people irrespective of gender who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is run by a care company that runs several other children’s homes and a small, specialist school in the area. In 2013, the company was purchased by a larger national organisation, but it retains its local corporate identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

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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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 25 to 26 April 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection

Monitoring visit completed: 19 June 2017 Inspection report children’s home: 1245569 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home requires improvement to be good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 On one occasion, an incident escalated to the point where two young people were at risk. The acting manager failed to ensure that staff had the skill and confidence to intervene.  The acting manager failed to notify Ofsted and a local authority of a serious incident.  Auditing of the home’s records failed to recognise that some staff are not recording key-worker sessions.  Staff are not always applying the training they have received. Consequently, challenging situations are not always effectively managed.  Auditing of homely medicines does not take place in line with the home’s policy.  When young people go missing from the home, they do not always have return home interviews within the required timescales.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The acting manager and members of the senior management team recognise the areas of development and have responded quickly to the requirements made at the previous inspection.  Young people who move on from the home do so with the help of staff who know and understand them well.  The staff have enthusiasm and are keen to improve both the home and the experiences of the young people who live there.  Young people are supported to attend school. The one young person living in the home has a very good attendance at school and is achieving well.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/06/2017 25/04/2017 Monitoring visit Full Inspection N/A Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: 1245569 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 The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 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; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child and 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 provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(2)(a)(c)(f)) 11/09/2017

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child

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Requirement Due date

protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vii)) 11/09/2017 Inspection report children’s home: 1245569 4 Notification of a serious event

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(e)) 11/07/2017

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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 authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. This must take place within reasonable timescales (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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improvement to be good

Since the last full inspection in April 2017, the home, the staff and the young people have experienced a number of changes. The young person living in the home has the required care plans. Behaviour management plans also provide the staff with sufficient information about the young person and how to support their complex needs. Unfortunately, staff do not always demonstrate an understanding of these plans. The young person continues to present with some very challenging behaviours. On one occasion, the staff did not prevent the young person and one other young person, who was then living at the home, jointly escalating a situation and placing themselves at risk. As a result, one young person has been moved out of the home. Further to this, written evidence in the form of key-worker sessions lacked sufficient depth, and, on two occasions, key-worker sessions had not been recorded. The young person who moved out of the home did so with the support of their staff

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improvement to be good

team. A planned approach meant that staff helped the young person to understand the reasons for the move, and core staff members continue to support the young person as she settles into her new home. The young person living in the home is provided with a good deal of support from the staff team. He has trusting and good relationships with a number of key individuals. This means that the young person is able to share his worries and anxieties as he learns to Inspection report children’s home: 1245569 5 trust them. The staff work hard to help young people go to school. As a result, the young person attends school, and records indicate that they are doing well. In addition to this, staff support the young person to undertake work experience at a shop. From the point at which they arrived, the young person has made very good progress in respect of education and ability to be independent of staff. The young person is spending time with family, friends and out and about in the local

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improvement to be good

community. These relationships are supported by staff, which has led to the young person spending more time with their family and playing out. In particular, the young person is very enthusiastic about cycling. A member of staff who is also a keen cyclist has encouraged this and, as a result, the young person and staff regularly go on cycling trips together.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection there have been a number of serious incidents. These incidents involved the young person currently living in the home and the young person who has subsequently moved on. Staff have not always demonstrated sufficient skill in preventing or de-escalating these situations. As a result, the young person currently living in the home, and the young person that has since moved out, have placed themselves at risk. The young person currently living in the home has been reported missing on a few occasions. While return home interviews have taken place, they were not within the required timescales. There are a number of risk assessments in place. Overall, they capture sufficient detail for the staff to have a good understanding of the young person. However, a number of specific assessments are out of date and do not reflect the most recent behaviours of the young person. Importantly, there is evidence that the staff do not have a clear

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improvement to be good

understanding of how to put these plans into action. Since the last inspection, the use of physical intervention has reduced. Staff promote positive behaviour through incentive plans and praise. A restorative justice approach is used when the young person causes damage. This helps the young person to learn the consequences of their actions, and helps them learn how to resolve conflict and to understand that repairing damage costs money. During the course of the inspection, the young person spoke positively about living in the home. They feel safer and more settled now that the other young person has moved out. It was noted that window restrictors, that were necessary for the safety of the young person who has since moved out, remain in place. The young person told the inspector that there was no need for them. He was confused as to why they remain. However, plans are in place for the young person, who really enjoys using tools, to help

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improvement to be good

safely remove these. In doing so, the home will reflect the needs of the young person. Since the last inspection, a new security system for the computer means that staff are able to discreetly monitor the young person’s usage. In doing so, a risk-managed Inspection report children’s home: 1245569 6 approach to helping the young person learn to safely use the internet is in place. There have been no changes to the staff team since the last inspection. The acting manager, along with the senior management team, have reviewed their recruitment procedures and these are considered safe.

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

The acting manager has, with the support of the senior management team, been actively seeking to address all of the shortfalls identified at the last full inspection. While progress has been made, further time is required in order to ensure that good practice is embedded. The acting manager has been able to provide the staff team with a period of stable management and support. Team meeting records reflect how she is promoting good practice for all staff. Examples of this include the identification of training to support young people with challenging behaviours, and how to improve report writing. Furthermore, the company’s psychologist regularly attends team meetings and visits the home to provide staff with strategies to help young people with complex needs. Since the last inspection, there has been an injection of new training for all staff, and further training is set to take place. Unfortunately, during this period the acting manager

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

has failed to ensure that all staff apply their training and are sufficiently skilled and confident to prevent serious incidents taking place. A number of auditing errors were identified during the course of the inspection. These include the acting manager failing to notify Ofsted and the young person’s placing authority of a serious incident, ensuring that staff complete and record key-worker sessions following serious incidents, and ensuring that the homely medicine audit takes place in line with policy. Conversely, following on from the last inspection, the acting manager has demonstrated good working with the placing authorities of the young people. She has worked hard to advocate for the young people, and has been instrumental in making sure that the young person who moved out did so smoothly.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1245569 7 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: 1245569 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Crossways Care Ltd, Unit B2, Elmbridge Court, Cheltenham Road East, Gloucester, Gloucestershire GL3 1JZ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christine Cameron

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Inspector

Linda Bond, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1245569 9 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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