Children's home run by Timeout Children’s Homes Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report children‟s home: 1233981 1 Registered provider: Time-Out Children‟s Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who have emotional and/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 requires improvement to be 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: 25 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children are benefiting from the effects of stable and consistent care.  Children are being helped to understand their behaviours and make positive choices. Children are being helped to maintain their safety and, as a result, the Inspection report children‟s home: 1233981 2 concerns around their past behaviours are diminishing.  Children are making significant improvements in education.  Staff are taking active steps to ensure that children are safe, as they are taking immediate actions to address and reduce risks.  Children‟s emotional well-being is improving with the help and intervention implemented by staff and underpinned by the therapeutic team.  The manager is forward thinking and working with her team to develop practice for the children.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children‟s home‟s areas for development are:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager needs to strengthen her monitoring of the home to ensure that all records and practice meet regulation and do not impact upon the care afforded to the children.  Although the staff understand the needs of the children, the staff team requires further training to meet children‟s specific risks and needs.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2017 Full Good 02/11/2016 Interim Not judged Inspection report children‟s home: 1233981 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

17: Placement plan for looked after child This regulation applies to a child who is looked after by a local authority. The registered person must co-operate with the child‟s placing authority in agreeing and signing the child‟s placement plan. (Regulation 17(1)(2)) 04/09/2017

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Requirement Due date

40: Notification of a serious event The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if - there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(c)(e)) 08/09/2017

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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 staff- have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(iii)) 15/09/2017

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records The registered person must 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 (“the authorised person”): 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)(c)) 08/09/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: 1233981 4

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Recommendations

 Any home using CCTV or other monitoring equipment should have a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home in accordance with regulation 24. Homes must gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority in writing at the time of placement. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  Children should be supported to express themselves as individuals and should be given an appropriate degree of freedom and choice in relation to day to day arrangements for their care, depending on their individual needs and the setting in which they are cared for. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 17, paragraph 3.21)

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Recommendations

This is with particular reference to the design of the home not providing a child with the choice to take a shower rather than a bath to meet her personal care needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress at this home. For example, children who previously had limited or no school attendance are now regularly achieving 100% attendance. In addition, they have displayed a marked improvement in their commitment to learning and engagement with education. One child said: „I have changed a lot. I never used to go to school when I used to live in my old house.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good routines to support the development of their physical and emotional health and well-being. They are helped to make the right choices about healthy living habits. A professional reported, „X‟s (young person) appearance has vastly improved since living at the home, as he now is encouraged to eat regularly and has refrained from any drug misuse.‟ A child said, „Staff have really helped me to cut down on my smoking.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children‟s emotional well-being is improved by the help and interventions implemented through the staff and therapy team. One child is being helped to deal with her overwhelming emotions and is building up her self-esteem. One child is being helped to develop her calming breathing techniques, which she reports are „helping her‟. This child also reported: „Staff are good and know what to do when I am angry and upset.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to meet their personal hygiene needs. The staff team gives advice and practical assistance to help the children to develop their skills. This includes Inspection report children‟s home: 1233981 5 researched-based practice around the specific conditions of enuresis and encopresis. This research has also developed the staff team‟s understanding of the conditions, which helps them to support the child further. A therapist reported: „X is making progress, but it is a long journey. The team is really responding well to her and through their enthusiasm she is blossoming.‟ However, the home environment needs developing to help children to meet their personal care needs, as one child only has the option of a bath and this restricts her choice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are being helped by staff to understand and embrace their cultural identity. For one child, this is helping her to understand and celebrate her appearance rather than feeling negative about her difference. Staff took this child to a Caribbean festival and she is in the process of joining a Caribbean dancing group.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are maintaining regular contact with their family members. This is through the facilitation and supervision of the staff team. A parent reported: „The home are brilliant and they go out of their way to support contact.‟ One child said: „Staff take me to contact, which is nice as it is so far away.‟

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

Children are being helped to maintain their safety and, as a result, the concerns around their past behaviours are diminishing. The children are leading a positive life with plenty of opportunities. Both children report that before they came to live at the home they used to go missing. This is now a rarity and one child said: „I have not been missing‟. It is clear that children have limited free time and spend much of their time in the company of adults. The staff team is trying to encourage and promote the children‟s attendance of social groups to build upon their time spent within a peer group.

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

Children have built upon their relationships with staff, and this is evident when the children are in their company. The children enjoy the humour that staff use and there is much laughter in the home. When children are reliant on particular staff members, the manager recognises this and tries to broaden this for the children. The children are offered and participate in fun activities with staff. These are planned around the children‟s interests. One child said: „The best thing I have done is go to Wembley to watch a football match, and my home town won.‟

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

Children‟s current and previous risks are understood by the staff. The staff team understands the pertinent needs of the children and routinely works with their individual care plans. This provides the children with the help and guidance that are needed. However, for the staff to provide the best possible care they need to attend pertinent training, in particular around self-harm and the use of ligatures.

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

Staff also have insight into the complexities of group living. A great deal of significant work has been completed with the children about appropriate and inappropriate relationships. The staff have clear measures in place to monitor and reaffirm this message. The home does have monitoring systems in place. The manager needs to gain written consent from the children‟s placing authorities to implement these measures. Inspection report children‟s home: 1233981 6 Children are kept safe within the home. The manager responds immediately to any safeguarding concerns. She implements strategies to ensure that immediate action is taken to safeguard children and their well-being is maintained. However, to develop this further the staff team requires training around whistleblowing. One child reports: „Staff keep me safe, they make sure all the doors are locked on a night and that we are OK. They also say “goodnight” to me, which I like.‟

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

The home does not have a registered manager. A manager has been appointed from within the organisation and their application for registration is in process. The manger has a wealth of experience and her appointment was a well thought out decision to reduce the impact upon the home and children. Staff describe her as „supportive‟ and „always on hand‟.

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

The manager is utilising her experience and knowledge to review the care practices at the home to ensure that the needs of the children are met. The manager is able to identify the strengths in the home, and also the deficits in the consistency of staff practices. She is addressing these to ensure that the children benefit from clear routines and boundaries. A professional reported: „The team has invested in both children, and although there is a change of manager she is confident and has a wealth of experience helping traumatised children.‟

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

Reflective practice is a strong feature and this is integrated by the manager with her staff team in individual and group supervisions. This helps the manager to review and develop practices to ensure that the best care is given to the children. In addition, the manager is building staff development and listening to their wishes to support their progress.

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

The manager has varying means to monitor the efficiency and quality of care recording and practice. However, the manager needs to develop this monitoring of the home to ensure that all paperwork is accurate and relevant. This includes addressing the delays in notifications to Ofsted and ensuring that the restraint paperwork meets regulation, as these points have a direct impact upon children.

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

It is clear that the staff and the manager are working in partnership with agencies and families. The communication presents as more innate with the internal agencies and families than outside agencies. The manger needs to challenge the placing authorities to ensure that the home has the required documents for the children. A professional reported, „Staff are superb, they consult well and have powerful relationships with the children.‟ Inspection report children‟s home: 1233981 7

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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: 1233981 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Time-Out Children‟s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Timeout Children‟s Homes Ltd, Unit 2, Mill Fold, Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge HX6 4DH

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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1233981 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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