Children's Home run by Footsteps a Path to Change Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 1 SC476008 Registered provider: Footsteps A Path To Change 08 Limited

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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 run home provides care and accommodation for up to three children who may 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 good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children are cared for by nurturing, skilled and knowledgeable staff who understand and respond to their individual needs. Children say that they can talk to staff and feel listened to. Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 2  Staff respond to any risks, such as children going missing, promptly and robustly and liaise with all safeguarding agencies to ensure that children are located and return safely to the home.  The home has effective working relationships with external agencies and professionals to ensure that children can access any specialist services they require to help them to grow and develop in their physical and emotional well- being.  The home contributes well to multi-agency planning to ensure that children receive an education programme that is appropriate for their academic potential. They work well with schools to overcome barriers to learning.  Children enjoy a range of activities which help them to develop social skills and

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Key findings from this inspection

networks to promote integration within the local community.  Staff at the home work cohesively as a team to provide nurturing and consistent care that provides children with stability and a sense of security. They hold children central to their practice.  The manager takes decisive action when placements no longer meet children’s needs. The home works with placing authorities to support children safely until a new placement is identified.  Staff access ongoing training and consultation with a therapist to enhance their understanding of children’s specific needs, so that they are able to respond to each individual to promote positive outcomes.  Staff feel well supported by leaders and managers, who have a thorough understanding of children’s needs. The team works well together to enable children to make measurable progress.

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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

 External review and monitoring of the home have identified that some relevant plans for children are outdated. The independent person’s report should include actions to ensure that the registered manager requests current plans from placing authorities, to demonstrate that the home provides care that meets an authority’s expectations.  The review of care report, produced under regulation 45, should provide an evaluation of the quality of care provided in the home and the impact it has on children’s progress and outcomes. It should identify any actions that drive continuous improvement in the home.  Not all staff have signed and dated all case records to demonstrate that they understand and follow steps to promote children’s safety and well-being. Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/12/2016 Full Good 21/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/01/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. Those undertaking the role should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) In particular, if relevant care plans are not current, the independent person should make recommendations that highlight such shortfalls so that up-to-date plans are requested from placing authorities.  The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the

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Recommendations

impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)  The internal quality review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weaknesses in the home’s care which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)  All children’s case records must be kept up-to-date, signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy warm and nurturing relationships with experienced and resilient staff. Each child is valued for their unique personality and their individual diversity is clearly respected. Staff take care to support children’s cultural and identity needs with compassion and sensitivity, helping them to access community and professional services. Children therefore access experiences and support that enhance their well-being. Children’s care is well planned to meet their individual needs to help them make progress across all aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children achieve within education and staff work well with educational professionals to Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 5 support individuals to develop, despite any barriers to progress. The home contributes in meetings to identify educational placements of an appropriate academic quality, so that children’s future opportunities are maximised. One child, who was disengaged from education prior to moving to the home, learned to enjoy going to school and values the friendships she has made there. Informal educational experiences are also encouraged, and there is good communication between staff and schools. For example, after a recent terrorist incident, one child was taken to the area where it had occurred to develop her understanding and empathy for the victims. This was in response to her behaviour in school when the incident was discussed. Children also access clubs within the community

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

so that they can pursue their interests, such as drama, and develop their social skills and local networks. Staff work well with group leaders and encourage children to attend independently so that their experiences are similar to peers who are not children looked after.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend health appointments with suitable adult support and maintain healthy lifestyles. Staff encourage children to participate in physical activities, and buy garden games, such as ‘swingball’ and a trampoline so that they can have fun while keeping active. Children have individual healthy snack boxes, and choose menus for nutritious meals that promote a healthy diet. Staff respond very sensitively to children’s individual health needs and use external health professionals, such as the allocated nurse for children looked after, effectively for their support. Children’s psychological and emotional well-being is well promoted by specialist services in addition to the therapist who works with the home. This means that children access appropriate support to help them understand previous life experiences and find more adaptive ways to deal with difficult emotions so that their self-esteem and resilience grow. The home’s therapist also works

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

closely with the staff to help them develop strategies and respond to behaviours that result from children’s attachment needs. This helps the group to achieve the home’s therapeutic aims and objectives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

New admissions to the home are well planned, with children given the opportunity to visit before moving in. Staff discuss house rules and individual likes and dislikes with the child before the transition into their new environment so that children know what to expect. One child has worked towards keeping fish, as this is a particular interest, and regularly goes fishing with staff as an activity. This has enabled the child to build relationships with staff as part of settling into the home. Children say that they feel listened to and like the staff. Unplanned discharges from the home are managed so that all children are safeguarded, with one child spending time with staff at a cottage until the placing authority identified an alternative placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they are able to speak to staff that they can trust. They know how to complain and any complaints are dealt with quickly and fairly so that children feel they are taken seriously. The manager uses team meetings and supervision well, to address any practice issues when complaints are upheld. Children also have a ‘grumbles’ book, although they rarely need to use it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel well listened to, and know that staff advocate on their behalf with other professionals, for example to extend contact with family members to overnight stays. Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 6 Staff accompany children when they travel long distances to visit family, and will feed back any relevant information to social workers to ensure that contact remains safe and appropriate in meeting children’s needs. Professionals, including social workers and independent reviewing officers, say that the home is very supportive of facilitating children’s contact with family and siblings who are also looked after. They confirm that the home communicates well to update them with any progress or incidents and compliment staff for their child-focused, non-judgemental approach and perseverance when faced with challenging circumstances. Children achieve positive outcomes because they are central to care practice within the home.

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

Risk assessments and behaviour management plans are regularly reviewed to provide staff with strategies to keep children safe. However, not all assessments are signed and dated by staff to demonstrate their awareness of any emerging or changing risks to children’s safety. Missing from home risk assessments are not individual, as some refer to procedures that are not relevant to some children’s circumstances, such as independent time. Although the use of alarms on bedroom doors is clearly stated in the home’s statement of purpose, the home did not have written permission from placing authorities for their use. Staff did demonstrate current understanding of children’s risks, and therefore children’s safety is not compromised by these recording issues. The manager took action to rectify these shortfalls when brought to her attention.

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

Staff have taken appropriate and timely action when children have gone missing from the home or when they have been staying with their families. If children return under the influence of alcohol, they are encouraged to seek medical attention and are closely monitored. Catch 22, the agency that visits children for return home interviews, reports that the home helpfully provides their own reports of missing incidents that supplement information from the police, and that staff promptly complete assessments for risks of child sexual exploitation. The home also attends regular meetings with the police to keep informed of local risks. This supports effective multi-agency working to keep children safe.

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

Staff help children to understand their own plans so that they know why boundaries are in place. Children are rewarded for positive behaviour and achieving their individual targets, for example by being made ‘Star of the Week’, receiving vouchers or choosing books or activity equipment of their choice. Occasional use of consequences, in response to negative behaviours, is reasonable and proportionate, such as making a contribution to charity for wasting food that was bought for charity fundraising. Key-work sessions with children help them to understand why their behaviour may put them in risky situations. Staff use meetings and peer consultation well, to review their practice to ensure that children experience care and boundaries that are consistent and help them to feel safe and secure. Any incidents, including when physical intervention is required to keep children safe, are carefully recorded. The therapist provides thoughtful feedback for

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

staff following incidents and the manager reviews all records. Children are helped to understand why physical intervention has been used, or why their behaviour has not been acceptable. Robust action is taken to address any bullying behaviour in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 7 Restorative meetings are used to encourage children to reflect on their actions and to rebuild relationships.

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

Allegations made against staff are promptly reported to safeguarding agencies. The manager takes action to protect children and staff during the course of any investigation and liaises closely with the designated officer so that all procedures are followed and outcomes are clearly recorded.

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

When the behaviour of older children has increased the risks for younger residents, the home has reviewed placements with placing authorities and worked well with them to support transitions to new homes. Staff from the home supported one child when she moved to the provider’s other home, to help her to settle into her new surroundings and continue to visit her and maintain contact. Children therefore continue to feel valued and supported by the staff when their placement ends.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced and qualified former deputy has now successfully registered with Ofsted as the manager of the home. She is supported by an internally promoted deputy manager who is enrolled on a level 5 leadership and management qualification. Further changes are being made to the provider’s management structure. A new head of care is due to commence employment shortly, who will have oversight of both homes owned by the company. The manager will be reviewing current systems and paperwork with the head of care with the view to streamline them and avoid unnecessary duplication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is already planning further improvements to increase children’s participation in the running of the home, including a monthly newsletter. She meets with each child on a monthly basis so they can raise any concerns or suggestions for the home, in addition to the weekly children’s meetings at which they discuss issues in the home, and plan activities and menus. Children have helped to plan and start to decorate a new ‘chill out’ space separate from the house. Their rooms are personalised in line with their individual tastes and the home environment is warm, welcoming and child-focused in decor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff spoken with during the inspection confirmed that they feel very well supported by managers and feel included in all aspects of the running of the home. Staff receive regular, reflective supervision to support their practice. In addition to monthly team meetings, staff access group supervision and consultation with a therapist to discuss individual children’s needs and to plan the best ways to meet them. During the recent challenging times in the home, staff feel they supported each other well to continue to provide consistent care for children. They also reflected on the placement endings to review and learn from the experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete and update mandatory training, as well as additional training to meet children’s specific needs. They are able to access a range of training opportunities with external providers, including the Local Children’s Safeguarding Board, so that they remain current in their skills and knowledge to help and support children across all Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 8 aspects of their lives, including their diversity. Staff have recently trained to use an evidence-based tool, ‘Outcomes Star’, which they will be using with children’s participation to further measure and support progress and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The service has well-established relationships with a range of professionals and agencies to support children’s holistic needs. Staff work closely with social care, education and health professionals, as well as other lead child protection agencies, including the police. External professionals report that they are kept well informed of children’s progress and significant events and say that staff are very supportive of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal and external monitoring systems are in place to review the care that children receive. Children’s progress is monitored on a monthly basis. Although the independent visitor’s reports have highlighted that some children’s relevant plans are not current, no recommendations were made to request updated plans that reflect children’s current placement and needs. The home’s last review of care report lacks robust evaluation and actions to drive continuous improvement in the home. During the inspection, the manager advised that these systems are also to be reviewed with the head of care. Recommendations are made to ensure that the manager has systems in place to ensure that she has effective oversight of the home.

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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: SC476008 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Footsteps A Path To Change 08 Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Alderley Close, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire SK7 6BS

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Charlotte Hearne

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Inspector

Karen Willson, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 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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