Children's home run by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council in Bolton

Inspection report children’s home: SC067052 1 SC067052 Registered provider: Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council

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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 is a local authority children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural and/or learning difficulties.

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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: 2 February 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC067052 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

 The matching arrangements for young people who are to move into the home are insufficient and ineffective at identifying the compatibility of the placements. Consequently, the home has recently experienced an unsettled period, with young people exhibiting challenging and often risky behaviour, such as high levels of intimidating behaviour and physical aggression. Such behaviour has affected the young people’s safety and well-being, and exposed staff and other young people living in the home to unacceptable levels of risk.  Behaviour management is ineffective at supporting young people to understand the consequences of their behaviour on themselves and others. Consequently, some young people have continued to engage in behaviours that compromise their own safety and that of others.  Allegation management is not robust. The records of allegations made by young people are poor and insufficient in providing details of the actions and outcomes

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Key findings from this inspection

that have been reached as a result of these disclosures. Furthermore, the provider has also failed to notify Ofsted in line with regulation. This compromises the safety of young people and hampers external scrutiny of practice.  Although the manager ensures that all complaints are dealt with quickly and effectively, the records of complaints made by young people are unsatisfactory. Again, these records do not provide any details of the actions and outcomes that have been reached as a result of the young people’s complaints. This hinders the regulator’s ability to scrutinise this practice to ensure that young people’s wishes and views remain central to care practice and that their safety is maintained.  The manager has failed to ensure that a number of her management tasks are completed, as she has prioritised her time providing hands-on care and support to young people. These tasks relate to ensuring that there are sufficient staffing

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Key findings from this inspection

numbers on shift to safely manage changes in young people’s behaviours; that staff, including herself, receive regular supervision; ensuring that all agencies, including Ofsted, are notified of any significant events; and that young people’s records include sufficient detail to ensure that staff can support young people’s cultural and religious needs appropriately. Finally, the manager has failed to complete her manager’s monitoring, which is required in regulation.

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Key findings from this inspection

 A particular strength of the home is the quality of the relationships between young people and the staff team. Young people spoken with during the inspection spoke positively about staff keeping them safe and spending positive time with them. This supports young people to build positive relationships and to feel safe and supported in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC067052 3  Parents and professionals are positive about the home and the care provided to young people. They consider that the progress that young people make is a result of the level of care and support that they receive from the manager and staff.  The home has strong and sustained partnerships with other professionals such as the police, health, education and placing social workers. This effective collaboration supports the well-being and welfare of young people.  The home maintains a homely and welcoming environment. The manager and

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Key findings from this inspection

staff team ensure that the home is clean, well maintained, and that repair work is undertaken in a timely manner.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/06/2016 Full Good 05/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/05/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC067052 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

12: 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 the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(2)(b)) This specifically relates to only offering admission to young people whose needs have been carefully considered. The impact of these admissions on young people living in the home must also be evaluated and carefully risk assessed. 31/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience in line with the commitments identified within the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 31/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34(2)(d)) 31/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigations. (Regulation 39(3)) 31/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or person working there. (Regulation 40(4)(C)) 31/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every six months. (Regulation 45(1)) 31/08/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC067052 5

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Recommendations

 Ensure that children and young people receive care which meets each child’s needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account the child’s gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs, previous experiences and any relevant plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2) This is in particular regard to ensuring that children and young people’s cultural and religious needs are clearly identified in their placement plans.  Ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children and young people recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children and young people, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children and young people to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their

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Recommendations

behaviour, and the staff in the home should be skilled to support children and young people to understand this and carry this out. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) This is in particular regard to ensuring that the staff consistently implement the behaviour management plans and address any socially inappropriate and dangerous behaviours with young people so that they understand how to protect themselves, feel protected, and be protected from significant harm.  Ensure that the staffing meet the needs of young people and can respond flexibly to unexpected events or opportunities. Staffing structures should promote continuity of care from the child’s perspective. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.15)  Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and

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Recommendations

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) This specifically relates to not using Tippex to correct errors in the records.

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improvement to be good

Young people have experienced a period of instability and unsettlement over recent months. This has been caused by a number of factors, such as a change in the management team, poor placement planning and high levels of staff sickness. This has resulted in an increase in serious incidents in the home, such as an increase in violence and aggression towards staff, damage to the home, and assaults involving other children and young people. These events and situations compromise the safety and well-being for some young people, hinders some young people’s ability to enjoy positive and safe experiences, and impacts on the progress that others make. That said, the senior management team has responded to the concerns and issues that the manager has Inspection report children’s home: SC067052 6 raised about the compatibility arrangements of the young people presently living in the home and some young people have now moved on.

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improvement to be good

Transition arrangements for young people joining and leaving the home are variable. A number of young people have been admitted to the home following planned and emergency moves, in accordance with the home’s statement of purpose. Planned placements are positive and successful experiences for young people. This is because they are given the opportunity to visit the staff and other young people in the home prior to their arrival, which alleviates any worries and fears that they may have. That said, some young people experience emotional turmoil and distress as their placements are made quickly and with limited knowledge and planning. Although the manager completes an impact risk assessment to consider the mix of young people and their individual risks to each other, these assessments are not sufficiently robust. The assessment of risk in relation to the impact of new young people coming to live at the

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improvement to be good

home has not been vigorously considered or managed in all instances. Consequently, the behaviour of some young people who have been accommodated in the home has impacted negatively on the group dynamics, and others have left without any preparation or warning. This creates further inconsistences and disruption for young people, and impacts negatively on their emotional well-being. High levels of staff sickness have undoubtedly affected the consistency and stability of the home. Despite this, the core staff team works meticulously hard to help young people build trusted and secure relationships with themselves and each other. Although young people report that they feel safe, well supported and listened to by the manager and staff, some young people identify that their relationships with others have been difficult and unpleasant at times. Young people are confident and feel safe to raise their worries and concerns with staff. They confirm that, when they have raised issues or

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improvement to be good

worries about other young people in the home, the manager and staff have listened to them and acted on their concerns quickly and effectively. This enables young people to feel valued and listened to, and supports them to feel safe and well cared for. The education arrangements for young people are mixed. Some young people are supported well to maintain their education placements and are progressing well. Others, who were previously making good progress in their education provisions, have experienced a decline in these areas following the arrival of one young person. For example, one young person who was making good educational progress in line with their starting points has seen a decline in their achievements. Furthermore, another young person has not attended school for a prolonged period of time, despite the best efforts of the staff, as they have consistently refused to attend school after mirroring those

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improvement to be good

behaviours of another young person. This limits the potential for young people to achieve, and hinders their opportunities to improve their later life chances. Young people’s general health needs are met as required. Staff are trained and experienced to support young people to manage their general health needs well. They access additional support and services quickly from health professionals, as the manager and staff have maintained positive and effective professional relationships with outside agencies. Good links with representatives from specialist services, such as child and adolescent mental health services, ensures that staff are provided with a range of strategies to assist young people with managing and regulating their emotional Inspection report children’s home: SC067052 7 responses. Although this support had assisted some young people to develop their strategies to manage their emotions more effectively, the progress for one young person

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improvement to be good

ceased following the arrival of another. Staff support and encourage safe and planned contact for young people with their family and friends in order to maintain a positive sense of self and to maintain their identity. Staff demonstrate some understanding of young people’s religious and cultural needs in order to support them to develop and maintain their sense of identity further. However, this understanding is hampered as young people’s religious needs are not fully documented in their placement plans. For example, one young person’s placement plan does not provide sufficient detail about their religious needs and cultural identity. As such, staff are unable to support young people to follow their chosen faith fully. Staff try hard to enhance the quality of young people’s day-to-day experiences. Staff encourage young people’s individual interests and ensure that they have access to community facilities. For some, this has been very successful and they have clearly

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improvement to be good

identified hobbies and interests in the community. For example, one young person is a regular attender and supporter of the local football team, and enjoys playing for a local football club. This, alongside regular attendance at community groups aimed at increasing young people’s independence skills, enables young people to increase their knowledge and skills, broadens their outlook on life, improves their social skills and fully integrates them into community life and wider society. The home environment is improving. The service has an ongoing repairs and maintenance programme to repair the damage caused by some young people. Some redecoration and repair work has been undertaken and further work is planned. This includes a new settee in the living room, new flooring to the downstairs office, and redecoration and repainting of one young person’s bedroom. The prompt attention that is given to addressing the areas of work that are required in the home ensures that

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improvement to be good

young people benefit from living in a homely and comfortable environment.

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improvement to be good

The assessment of risk in relation to the impact of new admissions is not robustly managed and this has undoubtedly impacted on the group dynamics. Although some admissions to the home are planned, others are not. While there is some evidence to show how the admission of young people may impact on the risky behaviours of others, this evidence lacks enough detail to identify if and how these competing behaviours can be managed effectively and safely. This impacts significantly on the effectiveness of the home’s matching process and the ability to make well-informed decisions about admissions. Consequently, some young people’s placements have been disrupted and others have been ended quickly and prematurely when some young people’s behaviours have escalated. This creates insecurity and unsettlement for a number of young people. The behaviour management systems are ineffective at supporting young people to

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improvement to be good

modify their violent and aggressive behaviours. Staff do use incentive schemes to promote socially acceptable behaviour, and occasionally use age-appropriate sanctions and consequences to address behaviours that are of concern. However, these strategies Inspection report children’s home: SC067052 8 to address risk-taking behaviour, such as violence and aggression, are not systematically used and, when they are, the effectiveness of these strategies is minimal. Consequently, young people continue to display behaviours that compromise the safety and well-being of themselves and others. Young people’s safety is compromised as the processes for managing allegations and complaints are insufficient. Although the manager ensures that all young people’s complaints are listened to, taken seriously and addressed sufficiently, she was unable to demonstrate that the same robust approach is taken to allegation management. This is

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improvement to be good

due to the lack of clear, succinct recording. The manager has implemented new processes to ensure that all complaints and allegations are now recorded. However, these records do not identify the action taken in response to these complaints and allegations, nor the outcome of any investigations. The lack of easy, available, detailed and succinct recording hinders the reader to formulate a judgement on how effectively young people are safeguarded during these times. Furthermore, when young people have made disclosures, the manager has not systematically followed up these concerns appropriately with the designated officer from the local authority where the home is located, nor has she informed Ofsted in a timely manner. This compromises young people’s safety, and hinders professionals from effectively carrying out their safeguarding responsibilities to ensure that young people are protected from harm.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of missing from care are responded to well. Staff are familiar with young people’s risk management plans and protocols that are in place and implement these routinely. When young people go missing from home, the staff make suitable attempts to contact and locate them. Good systems are now in place to ensure that safe and well checks, and independent home return interviews, are systematically undertaken. This, and good links with specialist teams such as child sexual exploitation teams, ensures that young people receive additional help and support in gaining further knowledge and understanding of the risks associated with these particular behaviours. This coordinated and cohesive response has enabled some young people to become safer, as they have not engaged in these particular behaviours since they arrived. All staff are appropriately trained in the use of physical restraint and understand that this

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improvement to be good

is only used when absolutely necessary. When physical restraint is used, this is appropriately managed and recorded well. This enables the manager to maintain a full overview of the incident to ensure that the practice is appropriate, current and effective. This enhances the safety and well-being of children and young people. Young people’s physical safety in the home is maintained. The recruitment of staff is sufficiently robust. The provider follows agreed procedures to ensure the thorough scrutiny of applicants prior to their employment in the home. This helps prevent unsuitable people from being able to work with young people. Furthermore, the staff complete regular health and safety checks on fire, electrical and gas equipment. This practice keeps everyone safe in the home.

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

Further arrangements are required to improve the effectiveness of the leadership and management arrangements in this home. Staff changes in both the senior management Inspection report children’s home: SC067052 9 team and in the staff team have left the manager and remaining core staff team being exposed and unsupported at times. Although the manager has made attempts to strengthen the staff team to keep young people safe during times of crisis, this has not always been possible due to limited staff resources. This compromises the safety and well-being of young people and staff. The manager has attempted to provide consistent care to young people by seeking support from other children’s homes, obtaining agency staff, and covering shifts in the home herself. However, in undertaking these additional day-to-day tasks, a number of shortfalls in other management areas have been exposed. For example, professional

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

supervision of the manager and staff is inconsistent and not in keeping with the approach set out in the statement of purpose. This means that staff are not fully supported and do not have a regular opportunity to reflect on or develop their practice. Furthermore, serious incidents such as allegations made against members of staff are not systematically reported to Ofsted. As a result, the regulator is not appropriately informed and, therefore, cannot carry out its monitoring function effectively to ensure that young people are protected from harm. Finally, the manager has not completed a six-month quality of care review. This hinders the manager’s ability to identify strengths and areas for development, and prevents her from analysing patterns and trends to help improve the experiences and progress for children and young people. Senior leaders are aware of the difficulties that this home has faced, as the manager has

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

raised her concerns appropriately about the placements for some young people with the placing social workers and their managers. Senior leaders and managers acknowledge that this has been a difficult period for the manager, staff and young people, and have identified ways to improve. The verbal commitment to address the shortfalls raised in this inspection, and the work undertaken to address two of the three previous requirements and one recommendation made at the last inspection, alongside the manager’s commitment to address the points identified in the monthly independent visitor reports, demonstrate the management’s capacity to learn from inspections, and to improve and develop this service. The manager was registered by Ofsted in April 2017. She is an experienced social care professional and is currently working towards the relevant management qualification. The manager ensures that the home’s statement of purpose is up to date and reflects

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

the aims and objectives of the service. She is passionate about her role and is committed to providing a child-focused service. In the short time that she has been in post, the manager has identified a number of areas for development. The manager has identified that young people’s case records are cumbersome, as information is stored across a number of files and is not easy to follow or find. She is presently in the process of addressing this, and improving her internal manager’s monitoring so that she can clearly identify, monitor and evidence progress made by children and young people. Staff spoken to during the inspection recognise that the home has had some increased challenges of late. Nevertheless, they continue to express commitment and enthusiasm for their role and genuinely want the best for the children and young people in their care. The manager has maintained effective working relationships with the placing authorities,

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

education colleagues, specialist health services and specialist teams to support children Inspection report children’s home: SC067052 10 and young people at risk of child sexual exploitation. This ensures that young people access the right level of support and services, and assists in some young people becoming increasingly safe. Parents and professionals confirm that the manager has a good understanding of young people’s needs and that she is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for all children and young people. When one professional was asked if a young person had made progress in this home, they said, ‘Absolutely loads of progress. [Name] had very limited social skills and could not advocate for themselves. They had no voice. They have now really flourished in the home. Their social skills have come on loads and they have a fabulous relationship with staff, who they will speak to if they are unhappy, which is real

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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 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: SC067052 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Victoria Square, PO Box 29, Bolton BL1 1RU

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Inspector

Janine Shortman-Thomas, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC067052 12 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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