Children's home run by Total Care Matters Limited in Nottingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 1 SC378600 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 owned children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children and young people who have emotional 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 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: 11 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children make good progress in many areas of their lives. They benefit from positive relationships with staff, who understand their needs and meet them well.  Children have positive experiences that enable them to develop their self- confidence and skills, and improve their quality of life. Their life experiences are enriched as a result.  Children become safer. Their risks are well managed, and staff are proactive in seeking out appropriate additional support when needed.  Partnership working is good. A range of resources are used to provide specialist advice and support. The management team is not afraid to challenge other agencies if there are deficits in service provision.  Staff are well supported by regular supervision and relevant training. They have benefited from the appointment of a permanent manager.  The manager has made a significant impact on improving the experiences and progress of children in the home. She develops the staff team, she learns from

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Key findings from this inspection

mistakes and she uses a variety of monitoring systems to improve the home.

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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

 Arrangements for independent return home interviews should be improved to include children who have had unauthorised absences. In addition, copies of the reports of these interviews should be made available to the manager and staff in the home, to enable them to take action to prevent further incidents where possible.  Following a physical intervention, the manager should speak to the children concerned, and provide a written evaluation of each incident, in order to improve staff practice where necessary.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/06/2016 Full Requires improvement 18/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 3 11/08/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 4

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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

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, 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)(c)). 31/08/2017

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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 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. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 48, paragraph 9.30) This relates to the manager demonstrating the efforts made to facilitate these interviews, and how the information is used.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress and having positive experiences as a result of living in this home. The individualised care and support, based on comprehensive care planning, ensure that their needs are understood and well met. Children have positive relationships with staff and there is evidence of good interactions. Staff know the children well, and are committed to helping them achieve. One social worker commented in relation to a child, saying: ‘This is the most settled she has been in her life. She has come on in leaps and bounds. Her confidence has increased, and she is now her own person.’ Another professional said of a different child: ‘She is happier, calmer, and healthier. She has a good relationship with staff, and she is having positive experiences that she has not had before.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 5 Children are encouraged to engage in a variety of activities outside of the home. For

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

some, this is a new experience and it promotes their self-confidence as well as helping to develop their skills. All the children are going on holiday and, again, for some this will be their first experience of such an event.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is an area of concern for some of the children. However, this is not due to any failings of the home. One education provider confirmed that a member of staff, ‘didn’t let it go’. A social worker also commented that the home does all it can, and is proactive in trying to ensure that children get what they are entitled to. One child has improved his attendance from 72% to 83% over the course of the academic year, and is expected to meet, and in some cases exceed, most of his targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Health needs, both physical and emotional, are well met. Children have regular appointments with universal health services. Additional specialist support is accessed as required. A social worker commented that the home has been proactive in trying to transfer a young person’s specialist service to the local area, to make it more accessible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions into and out of the home are well managed. Children develop their independence skills so that they are equipped with the necessary tools to enable them to be successful when they leave the home. Admissions are well planned. The manager ensures that she has all the relevant information in order to assess the impact on the rest of the group, as well as to ensure that the home can meet the needs of the new admission. Where possible, a visit to the home is arranged, and information about the home is provided in the form of a guide. This prepares children as much as possible for what is an anxious time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Contact with family and friends is promoted. Staff provide transport, and supervision if required, or equip the child with the necessary skills to travel by themselves. If children live at some distance from the home, they are not disadvantaged because staff ensure that appropriate contact is maintained.

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

Children’s safety and well-being are promoted through comprehensive risk assessments that are regularly updated in the light of emerging risks and incidents. For example, staff have clear guidance on how to minimise and respond to self-harming behaviour. There are good links with agencies that specialise in working with children who are at risk of sexual exploitation and, as a result, children have had these risks reduced.

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

Staff receive training in safeguarding as part of their induction. Although there have been no recent allegations or child protection concerns, the manager and staff know how to respond in order to safeguard children. Training in relation to the risks from radicalisation and extremism is planned to enhance the knowledge and understanding of staff in this area.

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

The response to children who go missing or who have unauthorised absences is good. Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 6 For some children, there has been a significant decrease in the extent to which they have such absences and they are therefore much safer as a result. Staff have adapted their practice in response to emerging risks. For example, certain children now have one- to-one supervision in the community, to enable staff to follow them more effectively, in the event that the children try to run away. Staff are now more prepared to take swift action, by, for example, having car keys readily available to avoid the necessity of going back to the home to get them. There are clear, individualised protocols and reporting procedures. Staff are aware of the requirement for children to be offered the opportunity of an independent return home interview on their return from being missing from care.

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

However, if a child has an unauthorised absence, this opportunity has not been requested. In addition, the home does not have a copy of the report of the return home interview, which limits the opportunity to take action to minimise a reoccurrence.

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

Behaviour is well managed. Positive behaviour is encouraged and rewarded, and restorative practices are used to address negative behaviour. Physical intervention is used appropriately by staff who have relevant and up-to-date training. Managerial oversight is generally good. However, there have been a small number of occasions when the manager has either not signed the record or has not commented on the incident. It is not clear that she has spoken to the children concerned, as their debriefs are undertaken by the staff involved at the time. This does not afford children the time to reflect, or the manager the opportunity to hear the children’s voice and evaluate staff practice in light of this.

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

The manager took prompt and effective action in relation to a serious incident that occurred earlier in the year. She demonstrated a robust commitment to ensuring that she understood how it happened, and how it could be prevented in the future. A willingness to reflect, learn and not be defensive are key attributes in improving practice to keep children safe from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by a registered manager who has a significant amount of residential childcare experience, both as a member of staff and as a former registered manager. She is currently undertaking the required managerial qualification, and is due to complete this by the end of the year. She has been in post since January 2017 and in that time she has had a significant impact on the functioning of the home. Staff morale has improved and staff now work more consistently, and have a better understanding of their responsibilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is child focused and wants the very best for the children in her care. She has a therapeutic approach, and is developing the staff so that they have a better understanding of this. This approach reflects the ethos of the home, as stated in its statement of purpose: ‘To provide a caring, nurturing and stimulating environment that enables young people to reach their potential.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is now a full staff team, following recent appointments to vacancies. This provides children with more consistency. Staff feel well supported by regular supervision that Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 7 enables them to reflect on their work with children as well as their own development. The manager undertook an analysis of the staff team’s skills and knowledge to enable her to plan to meet the staff members’ training and development needs. The training plan reflects that analysis, as well as the needs of the children in the home, and mandatory courses. There is a good level of training, to ensure that staff provide a competent and effective level of care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective monitoring systems that enable her to have a good understanding and oversight of the needs of the children as well as the home. This has informed a comprehensive development plan that is both aspirational and based on the quality standards. The deputy manager has developed a progression of outcomes monitoring document for each child, based on the data that the home keeps. This provides a good summary of the progress children are making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional relationships are good. There is good communication and the manager ensures that information is shared between relevant partners. This does not prevent appropriate challenge when partners are not delivering the expected quality or timeliness of service. This has been the case particularly in relation to education, but also in respect of receiving local authority documentation to enable the home to plan the delivery of care and support more effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Tolerance, equality and diversity are promoted well, particularly in relation to culture, although the manager is also looking at other aspects of diversity, such as ability and sexuality. One young person is going to the local ‘Pride’ event. A bullying handbook has been developed and there is open discussion of issues relating to race and religion. Inappropriate comments are challenged in a way that promotes understanding and learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s participation is good. There are regular house meetings, to enable them to share their views. They discuss menus, activities and aspects of decoration and furnishing. For example, one child suggested having planning boards in each bedroom to give a clear and visual representation of the individual activities and appointments for each week. Children also have regular key-work sessions. Children say that they feel listened to and that their views are valued.

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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: SC378600 8 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: SC378600 9

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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

Ros Chapman: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC378600 10 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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