Children's home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report children’s home: SC064530 1 SC064530 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

This is one of a number of children’s homes operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The organisation has a small therapy department, as well as primary and secondary education provision, which young people can access if appropriate.

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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 outstanding

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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 October 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None. Inspection report children’s home: SC064530 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The experience of living at this home is having a positive impact on the lives of both young people. This is because staff have been effective in their efforts to provide them with a welcoming and nurturing environment that gives them with a stable platform on which to further build their successes.  Staff have successfully supported young people to re-engage in education after significant periods of absence.  Staff have an in-depth understanding of each young person’s needs, behaviours, risks and vulnerabilities, and work effectively with the team around them to provide consistently good levels of care and support.  Young people feel safe and express confidence that the manager and staff provide them with the support that they require.  Young people’s safety is given a high priority. Staff take an educational approach to helping young people to understand the risks that they may face in their lives. This is helping each young person to understand their own behaviour

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Key findings from this inspection

and make better choices about keeping themselves safe.  The placing social worker is extremely complimentary about how the home has supported these young people to maintain their identity as sisters, while giving them opportunities to develop individually and at their own pace.  The registered manager promotes a strong, child-focused ethos that is successfully implemented by the committed and caring staff team.

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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

 The arrangements for managing, administering and disposing of medication require improvement.  The manager has yet to deliver training for staff in the management of contact.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/10/2016 Full Good 17/05/2016 Interim Not judged 09/03/2016 Interim Not judged 29/04/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC064530 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15) This is with specific reference to ensuring that medication is stored in an organised fashion and implementing effectively the existing auditing arrangements to ensure that unused medication is returned or disposed of in a timely fashion.  Ensure that staff understand and can meet each child’s needs, in line with their responsibilities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5) This is with specific reference to ensuring staff that have the necessary skills and experience to respond to difficult and challenging situations when supervising family contact.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home closed shortly after the last inspection in October 2016 following a decision to end the placement of a young person whose needs could not be safely met. The home remained closed until April 2017, when it reopened to facilitate the admission of two young sisters. The manager was influential in helping the placing authority to place these sisters, strongly advocating for them to remain together. This has proven to be a good decision, as both young people have settled in and are making good progress relative to their time in placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from well-planned care which is personalised to their individual needs. Staff have successfully created a caring and supportive environment that has enabled these young people to feel safe, valued and respected. Staff are working hard at forging trusting relationships with each young person, and are using these effectively to help them to understand and come to terms with the reasons why they need to live at this home. A social worker said, ‘The home promotes a family environment and this has been good for the girls. From the start, staff have been very welcoming. They take things at the girls’ pace and recognise that they need their own space. A real positive is the fact that they allow them to be children, which they have missed out on in the past. For example, they gave them each a teddy when they arrived and allow them to sit about in their pyjamas, relaxing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s views and opinions are integral to all aspects of their care. They are routinely involved in making choices about what they do each day and are frequently Inspection report children’s home: SC064530 4 asked to offer their opinions about the quality of care that they receive. They are encouraged to take an interest in their plans and are given good support in this respect. They have their own version of their care plans, which include achievable targets that have been agreed between them and their key worker(s). While the young people are at different stages of understanding in terms of the complexity of their circumstances, it is clear from discussion with them that they have confidence that staff will be there to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have been successful at re-engaging both girls in education after a significant period of non-attendance. Both young people are on roll at the organisation’s secondary school and were consistently engaging in their education during the summer term. One young person received an end-of-term award for 97% attendance, the highest in the school. Staff recognise the importance of education and promote this at the home. For example, young people have been supported to take online courses, including first aid, equality and diversity, as well having opportunities to achieve various AQA certificates. This change in attitude to learning provides a good foundation on which to build and improve their future prospects.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s physical and emotional health and well-being are promoted. Staff were quick to make arrangements to address their immediate health needs at the point of admission, and have continued to give good support in this respect. Both young people are registered with routine services and have been supported to attend outstanding dental and ophthalmic appointments. Statutory medicals have taken place and actions from these assessments are detailed in each young person’s health plan. Medication arrangements could improve. All medication is stored in a small safe within the staff office. Medication within the safe is not well organised, increasing the potential for errors to be made. Also, prescribed unused medicatiois not being returned to pharmacy in a timely manner, an issue that the manager’s recent audit failed to pick up. Some level of direct support has been offered by the organisation’s therapy team, and support of the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

staff team is ongoing, with reference to managing self-harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people say that the best thing about living at this home is the staff and the fun activities that they do with them. Since arriving at the home, both young people have had the opportunity to have new and exciting recreational experiences such as going on holiday to Wales, becoming a dog walker and participating in a fundraising event that involved dressing up and walking around a local lake. It was a pleasure to hear one young person speaking so excitedly about all the things that they have done since coming to this home. Staff are good at using activities to address young people’s needs, for example introducing pamper nights as a way of improving personal hygiene. Young people are becoming more confident, over time. For example, one young person is building up to attending a singing and dancing club. A social worker said, ‘Neither of the girls have a lot of confidence, so the fact that they are doing new activities and trying

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote young people’s contact with family members. They understand the complexities of these relationships and support contact in a way which meets young people’s needs. For example, they make every effort to give young people and their Inspection report children’s home: SC064530 5 parent’s privacy while maintaining their responsibility to supervise contact. This is confirmed by one parent who wrote, ‘They leave us in peace.’ However, the manager has recognised the need to ensure that staff have the confidence and skills to intervene when contact becomes difficult, a point raised by the young people’s social worker in July 2017 and mentioned during this inspection. The manager intends to deliver training to staff, but at the time of inspection this has not taken place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The standard of accommodation is very high. The home has a welcoming feel that is appropriate to the particular needs of these girls. Photographs of young people and staff enjoying time together are displayed on various walls, as are certificates of their achievements. Young people have been encouraged to make it their home, and this is particularly evident in garden, where they have painted the fence and patio furniture in bright and summery colours. Young people are particularly proud of their bedrooms, which they are personalising to their individual taste. One young person was keen to show me her room and tell me about the teddy bear that she had won on holiday.

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

Young people are effectively safeguarded by suitably trained staff. Staff have a good understanding of each young person’s risks and vulnerabilities, and work effectively with the support of the therapeutic team to safely manage these risks. Young people express a confidence that staff will keep them safe, which is indicative of the trusting relationships that are developing over time.

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

The young people benefit from one-to-one staffing, which means that staff are consistently available to provide them with individual support on a daily basis. They do not go missing from home, because they feel safe and like being with staff and each other. Staff understand the processes that they would need to follow if a young person did go missing. These are clearly set out in each young person’s plans and have been agreed with the police, on the basis of their known risks and vulnerabilities. This ensures that a coordinated response will be taken, should either of the girls choose to go missing.

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

Staff understand the risks of child sexual exploitation and the need to be alert to this issue. This includes recognising the risks associated with image sharing on social media, of which there has been one incident. This was proportionately managed and, as well as informing the relevant agencies, staff took an educational approach with the young people. For example, they undertook project work around internet safety and supported both young people to take an online course in e-safety. This is just one of many examples of how staff are supporting young people to develop an understanding of the risks that they face in their lives, and more pertinently helping them to make informed choices about their personal safety.

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

There have been no child protection referrals or allegations since the last inspection. The manager has a good understanding of the organisation’s and local authority’s procedures, and knows who to contact in the event of any emerging concerns. She regularly attends the local authority provider meetings, where she benefits from Inspection report children’s home: SC064530 6 acquiring intelligence about the local area. This information has been included in the home’s location risk assessment, which is detailed and well used when considering admissions or planning activities.

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

Staff act as positive role models for young people and reinforce positive behaviour through affirmation, praise and encouragement. Young people respond positively to this approach and have enjoyed plenty of spontaneous rewards and treats since arriving at the home. Overall, both young people are very well behaved and are responding positively to good routines and clear boundaries that have brought about a sense of stability for them. They present little by way of challenging behaviour, and there have been very few sanctions and no restraints since their admission.

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

Recruitment practice is good throughout the organisation. All staff are subject to careful vetting prior to starting work at the home. The manager places an emphasis on assessing staff’s skills to ensure that they are well matched to this and/or her other home and the needs of the young people. This has been very effective in establishing a caring and nurturing group of staff who are providing these young sisters with the care and support that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

This is home is run by an experienced and suitably qualified manager who has been registered with Ofsted since July 2014. She is also registered for another home within the organisation, and splits her management time between the two. She is ambitious for the young people in her care and remains fully involved in all aspects of care planning. For example, she takes a primary role in coordinating each young person’s care plan, including close liaison with parents and professionals. As a result, young people receive a cohesive and well thought out package of care that is tailored to their individual and unique needs. A social worker said, ‘Although they come as a package, being sisters, staff understand their differences and recognise the need for individual support.’ She went on to say, ‘I am really pleased with the progress both girls have made and would recommend this placement to anyone.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Young people are cared for by a small but dedicated team of staff, some of whom work across the manager’s two homes. This arrangement provides some level of flexibility by enabling the manager to match staff to the current needs of the young people in each of her homes. For example, she is currently looking at how she can increase the number of male staff in this home, based on the need to provide the current group of girls with additional male role models.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager provides a supportive environment for her staff to develop. She provides regular formal supervision and works hard to ensure that staff have the right opportunities to develop the necessary skills to care for young people. This is confirmed by staff, who were complimentary about how the manager is always available and is continually looking for opportunities for them to improve. One member of staff said, ‘I have been very well supported since moving to this home. Supervision is of a good quality, and clear goal setting has brought my practice up to date.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC064530 7 New staff are well inducted and given good support and guidance by experienced staff. They are required to shadow a number of shifts and have to be signed off by the manager to confirm that they are ready to work directly with young people. This competency-based approach continues throughout their employment, underpinned by

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

the organisation’s commitment to developing a skilled and competent workforce. This includes ensuring that staff are provided with the opportunity to acquire a relevant qualification, and it is an expectation that this is completed within legislative timescales. As a result, all staff are either qualified, in the process of registering for or studying a relevant qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A good range of purposeful training opportunities are available to staff. The manager maintains good oversight of the team’s training needs by regularly checking completion rates against the organisation’s training programme. Mandatory training is regularly refreshed, and needs-led training is provided as and when required. For example, the organisation’s therapist has delivered training in the management of self-harm in response to the needs of this group of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has taken suitable action to address the requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection. Young people’s records, which are now kept electronically, are comprehensively detailed and kept up to date. Risk management plans are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that they reflect the current behaviours, risks and vulnerabilities of each young person. The manager consistently reviews any imposed consequences for effectiveness and ensures that the young person has the opportunity to discuss these with a member of staff. Procedures are in place for the manager to review episodes of going missing from home, although this has not been necessary since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and is clearly focused on continuous improvement. The home’s development plan, which was completed in April 2017 and coincided with the admission of the current pair of young people, is child focused and very much based on developing the home to meet their needs. She makes good use of a range of internal quality assurance processes to ensure that all aspects of service delivery and young people’s progress are routinely monitored, evaluated and evidenced. Recent changes to the person undertaking regulation 44 visits has further strengthened monitoring activity, which is now challengingly thorough. Inherent in all monitoring activity are the views of young people, who are actively encouraged to reflect and comment on the standard of care that they receive. Their feedback is consistently positive, as was borne out during this inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC064530 8

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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: SC064530 9

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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

Paul Scott, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC064530 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 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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