Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report children’s home: SC032083 1 SC032083 Registered provider: Castle Homes 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

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is managed by a private provider.

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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: 16 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: SC032083 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

 Assessments have not been updated to reflect changes in risks for children. This means that staff, including temporary staff, may not be working to protect children from emerging or increasing risks.  Staff have not always followed risk assessments comprehensively to ensure that they have gathered information to protect children when they are away from the home. This means that if a child goes missing, they lack vital information to share with other safeguarding agencies.  Staff do not always record whether children understand why measures of control have been used to prevent harm to themselves or others, or if they have declined to discuss such measures.  From the point of accepting a referral, senior managers have not recognised changes in circumstances within the home which may impact on the well-being of children already placed. An admission that took place in the manager’s absence has had a detrimental impact on the stability and progress of children

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Key findings from this inspection

already living there.  Arrangements made in order to deal with the extended absence of the registered manager were not sufficient to maintain the high standard in the quality of care and leadership in the home.  A member of staff has not completed an appropriate childcare qualification within the timescales set in regulations.  Relevant plans, including statutory placement plans and personal education plans, are not held in the home for children who live there. This compromises the home’s ability to meet children’s needs in compliance with placing authorities’ expectations.  Children’s health plans have not been updated to reflect their current health needs and how these are being met at the home. Children’s diets do not promote a consistent healthy lifestyle, so that they can maintain a healthy body mass index.  The home needs to demonstrate that it escalates concerns when children do not receive independent return home interviews and when placing authorities do

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Key findings from this inspection

not provide relevant plans when requested.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children say that the staff look after them. Staff know children well and respond to their needs sensitively. Children are able to talk about their worries and concerns.  Children have made some progress from their starting points. They are Inspection report children’s home: SC032083 3 encouraged to engage in activities to help them understand the importance of continued progress. When things go wrong, staff help them to understand what they need to do to keep themselves safe and to help them find more positive ways to express themselves.  The registered manager is experienced and highly committed, and has the skills and experience to address the shortfalls identified in this inspection.  The permanent team members are supportive of her and of each other. They are clearly aware of the need for consistency and stability for vulnerable children and have worked together through a challenging period at the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

Staff use supervision reflectively and feel able to voice their concerns openly.  The provider recognises, and intends to address, shortfalls in training for leaders within homes to maintain continuity in the absence of the registered managers.  External professionals and important people in children’s lives report that children have made progress as a result of the care they receive at the home. They state that communication is good and the home ensures that all significant incidents are reported and responded to.  Robust external monitoring supports the manager to identify strengths and areas for development.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/11/2016 Full Good 20/01/2016 Full Good 25/11/2015 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC032083 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

The registered person must 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, makes arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12(2)(a)) In particular, risk assessments must be completed or reviewed and updated to consider emerging or increasing levels of risk. 25/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must 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)) Specifically staff should follow risk assessments and procedures to ensure that children are kept safe both inside and out of the home when meeting friends and associates and that all measures are taken to gain information that will support protection of the child. 25/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

Within 5 days of the use of the measure of restraint, 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)(c)). Specifically, if a child declines to discuss the measure, this is clearly indicated in the record. 25/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)) 25/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

To meet the standard requires the registered person to— ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13(2)(c)) Specifically, in the absence of the registered manager, any leader in the home has substantial relevant experience to perform that role, or contingency arrangements are put in place so that the leadership and management standard is maintained. 25/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

An individual who works in the home in a care role must have attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) by the relevant date which falls 2 years after the date on which 25/10/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC032083 5 the individual starts working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32(5)(a)) The registered manager must co-operate with the child’s placing authority in agreeing and signing the child’s placement plan. (Regulation 17(2)) 25/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

To meet the education standard the registered person is to ensure— that staff help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8(2)(a)(i)) 25/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— the health and well-being needs of children are met; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10(1)(a)(c)) 25/09/2017

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Recommendations

 Where the placing authority does not provide the input and services to meet a child’s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child’s needs. The home should continue to escalate their challenge of placing authorities when they do not provide relevant plans or services such as independent return home interviews. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)

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improvement to be good

Children have made progress in their lives from their starting points, but this has not been sustained consistently. Some children, whose education had previously been disrupted, attended school well for a number of months after moving to the home. One child completed functional skills examinations in Year 10 as part of preparation for GCSEs. However, attendance and engagement was impacted following the arrival of a child who had completed Year 11 and no longer had to attend school. The home worked in partnership with the school to support children to overcome barriers to their attendance, for example by using meetings with children to agree incentives, and providing staff to support in school until the appointment of a learning support assistant. This worked well for one child, who re-engaged before the end of the summer term. The child who had completed Year 11 has been supported to apply for a residential military

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improvement to be good

college, and has begun an independence living programme in preparation. The home has listened to children’s concerns about distractions, such as staff accessing an adjoining room to the classroom in school hours, and has moved laundry equipment to somewhere else in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC032083 6 Children’s health needs are supported by staff who encourage their attendance at appointments and to take medication to support their emotional and behavioural needs. Staff clearly understand that some medication must be administered at specific times and records reflect that these procedures are followed. Records also show if children refuse medication or have not been present in the home to receive it. Where services are unavailable, for example to meet children’s emotional needs through the child and adolescent mental health service, staff seek advice and refer to voluntary agencies for

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improvement to be good

support. Older children are also encouraged to make their own appointments when they feel unwell, to develop their confidence in expressing their health concerns with medical professionals.

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improvement to be good

The home seeks the support of the allocated nurse for children looked after so that the children are able to continue to receive care, for example if they have missed appointments. The outcomes of children’s appointments are recorded within their health plans, but the main summary in some plans has not been maintained by key workers to provide a clear record of current medication needs, or to provide a clear and current overview of children’s health progress. Some children’s health assessments show that they are considered to have above average scores for their body mass index, however, records of children’s meals do not reflect that they follow healthy eating patterns to help them achieve a healthier weight.

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improvement to be good

Staff know children well, so children feel able to express their worries and feelings. They are supportive of children in terms of their emotional well-being, engaging one child well with activities as a distraction from becoming overwhelmed by feelings about a forthcoming family event. This provided the child with a sense of achievement as they were able to make a contribution to charity. The child said, ‘It’s good here, staff look after us and help us to learn routines.’ Throughout the inspection, warm and supportive relationships were observed between the child and staff who responded sensitively to the child’s presenting behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Children are involved in their care planning through Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope, a person-centred approach. This is a creative and interactive process in which children engage with staff to identify their life goals, which can then be broken down into smaller steps. Children help to identify their own targets which help towards achieving their objectives. The plans also help staff to understand children’s likes and dislikes, they identify those people who are important to them and how to help children to develop relationships within the home.

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improvement to be good

The home has experienced challenges in liaising with a placing authority due to changes in social workers. Relevant documents, including personal education plans and placement plans are not on children’s files. One child’s education, health and care plan is yet to be completed by a local authority. This impacts on the home’s ability to demonstrate how the care planning for children complies with placing authorities’ expectations. The home needs to evidence continued escalation with local authorities that do not respond to requests for important information. However, the home has used historical information to support understanding of children’s needs in compiling its own Inspection report children’s home: SC032083 7 plans. The home is making improvements to planned work to help children make progress, and will challenge children and complete key-working sessions in response to specific incidents, to help them to make better choices.

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improvement to be good

In addition to a range of activities within the home, such as board games and DVDs, children access a range of activities elsewhere, ranging from trips to go ‘crabbing’ or shopping, to visiting places of interest, according to children’s preferences. Children express their views in regular meetings and individual consultations so that they plan activities they enjoy. Children are also able to keep pets, such as hamsters and guinea pigs, which gives them opportunities to learn about them and be responsible for their care, as well as providing experiences in line with those of their peers who are not looked after.

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improvement to be good

Children’s contact with important people in their lives, including family members and former carers, is well supported. Staff often travel considerable distances to ensure that children’s contact is maintained, and supervised as necessary, so that it is a positive and enjoyable experience. A parent said that staff she has met at contact are always supportive and that the home ‘has been really good’ with her child who she feels is ‘much better’ since moving there. A former foster carer for another child described the staff as very welcoming when she visits, and described how they have listened to the child’s wishes because the bedroom ‘is now to [the child’s] taste, and I can tell it’s [the child’s] room’. She said that staff are caring and supportive of maintaining an important relationship for the child, and that it is clear there are staff with whom the child gets on well, and who make time to do activities the child enjoys.

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improvement to be good

Comprehensive risk assessments are completed which take into account children’s individual needs. However, these have not been consistently updated with information relating to emerging or increasing risks to children’s safety, for example to reflect recent incidents of self-harm or using a lighter to set fire to paper. Staff take appropriate action to respond to self-harm events by seeking medical support and monitoring a child afterwards, and by following the specific protocols that are in place. Risk assessments must be reviewed to alert staff, particularly agency workers, to heightened concerns so that they can respond promptly to any further incidents and keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Some children had been making progress in keeping themselves safer from their starting points, for example by going missing less frequently. As a result, a child was supported to take age-appropriate risks, including increased unsupervised time in the community, and having access to a smartphone. However, staff have not always followed precautions agreed with social workers, such as gaining details of a new friend when taking a child to meet them. The home therefore had limited information to help police locate the child, who subsequently went missing. On other occasions the home has been proactive in sharing information with other safeguarding agencies to protect the child when they have been missing, and to minimise concerns regarding child sexual Inspection report children’s home: SC032083 8 exploitation. Where staff have not followed risk assessments robustly, the manager has investigated and taken appropriate action to minimise repetition of shortfalls. Children

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improvement to be good

who go missing from the home are automatically offered return home interviews by services commissioned by the host authority, and it is recorded when they decline to engage. However, a child who has gone missing from outside of the host authority has not had an interview, despite the home requesting one via the social worker. The police missing-from-home coordinator reports that the home always acts to protect children following any intervention meetings.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide children with guidance and boundaries to help them understand acceptable behaviour; however, there have been occasions when physical intervention has been required to ensure the safety of children or others around them. Although records are clear, they do not always indicate that a child has been spoken to about a measure that has been used. For one child who struggles to discuss incidents afterwards, the manager is implementing new approaches; however, she accepts that the home has not always recorded when discussions have been declined by the child. The risk assessment was not updated to reflect an increase in the use of physical intervention with the child. The home has very positive working relationships with the police, who have attended to speak with a child about acceptable behaviour, supporting the home’s approach to avoid criminalising children. However, on one occasion police did arrest children and detain

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improvement to be good

them in custody following a serious incident of property damage. The home has worked well with children as a means of restorative practice and has sought additional advice from the youth offending service to good effect.

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improvement to be good

Allegations are dealt with promptly and there is clear communication with social workers and the designated officer in accordance with statutory guidance. Records identify any action taken and outcomes following the conclusion of any investigations. Children are supported to make formal complaints to the police and their concerns are taken seriously by staff. For example, a child has complained to the police about racist abuse from another child at the home. Staff have worked with the perpetrator to make clear that such behaviour is unacceptable, reflecting the home’s ethos in promoting equality and diversity. The manager requests reviews of children’s placements, and will serve notice where there are issues that impact on the protection of other children in the home. During the inspection, the manager dealt with a challenging safeguarding issue sensitively and with minimal disruption to children. She clearly demonstrated persistence

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improvement to be good

in working with partner agencies to ensure that children’s safety was paramount.

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

Leadership and management in the home was impacted by the absence of the experienced and qualified registered manager for over three weeks. The acting deputy manager, while holding an appropriate qualification, lacked management experience. A manager from another of the provider’s home did provide some support; however, this did not mitigate the decline in the quality of leadership within the home. Quality of management oversight of records did not remain sufficient. A team meeting did not take place during a challenging time in the home to ensure that consistency was maintained Inspection report children’s home: SC032083 9 in practice, and to support staff. The provider has learned from this experience and is to implement additional training for deputy managers, to ensure continuity in the quality of leadership in the event of similar circumstances. The manager is clearly committed and has the ability to take the necessary action to address the shortfalls identified in this

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

Some time prior to her absence, the manager had accepted a referral for a child placed in another of the provider’s homes. This decision was made after completing an assessment of the impact of the admission, which took into account children already placed. In the time before the child moved to the home, staffing shortages occurred due to a resignation and long-term sickness. Significant events in the life of a child already living in the home impacted on that child’s emotional well-being and behaviour. However, senior managers do not appear to have considered whether the admission remained appropriate, given the changes in circumstances in the intervening period and the absence of the manager, and the child moved to the home. In addition, there was confusion regarding the day of admission. Staff were informed that the child would visit the home a day prior to moving in; however, when the child arrived for the visit it

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

became apparent that his previous home expected him to be admitted that day. This admission has subsequently impacted on the stability in the home and did not adequately consider the needs of all children at the time.

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

A delay in responding to a child’s complaint by senior managers is also likely to have impacted on the child’s emotional well-being at a difficult personal time. The inspector was advised that this was due to the annual leave of the investigating manager, in addition to that of the registered manager. This should have been completed promptly by an alternative senior manager, to reduce the child’s anxiety. The complaint has now been resolved to the child’s satisfaction.

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

Staff report that they are supported by the manager well. They can discuss any concerns, and are able to reflect on practice during regular supervision. Records show that staff are conscious of the impact of staff shortages and the recent admission to the home in the manager’s absence, recognising that this is an area that needs to improve. They identify that children need to be cared for consistently and support each other as a team. They have worked additional hours to ensure that the use of agency staff is kept within acceptable limits, demonstrating their commitment to promote stability for children. Consistent agency workers have been used to support continuity of care while new permanent staff are being recruited. Staff confirm that they access regular training, although one member of staff has not completed an appropriate childcare qualification within the specified timescales. Leaders recognise that some training offered to staff is

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

not relevant to their roles and responsibilities, and are seeking to ensure that the training department promotes training that enhances the team’s skills in caring for vulnerable children.

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

The manager has good oversight of the progress that children make, and takes effective action, when necessary, to ensure the well-being of all children in the home. Where children’s needs are not being met, the home alerts placing authorities to identify alternative placements, but tries to remain flexible to allow sufficient time to look for Inspection report children’s home: SC032083 10 suitable options to meet children’s best interests. A social worker confirmed that she receives notifications of all significant events, and that communication from the home is effective. She believes that the child has made progress as a result of the support the home provides. The home works to develop effective working relationships with other professionals to support children’s holistic care and protect them from harm, although changes in social workers for some children have interrupted continuity. The manager

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

has previously challenged local authorities when this has occurred, to advocate for consistency for children.

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

There are appropriate internal monitoring systems in place and the manager’s understanding of strengths and areas for development is robustly supported by the reports of an independent visitor. The manager has some clear plans for developing the home in the future, including a potential relocation to be closer to one of the provider’s schools. She also wants to further improve children’s participation in the home’s plans and has already incorporated their views from their meetings and individual consultations. The manager recognises the shortfalls in the home and is determined to return practice to a high standard in order to maintain the home’s aims and objectives and to promote positive outcomes for children.

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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: SC032083 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspector

Karen Willson: social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC032083 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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