Children's home run by Keys Nhcc Ltd in Rossendale

Inspection report children‟s home: SC020608 1 SC020608 Registered provider: New Horizons (Child Care) 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

The home is registered for up to three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It has a satellite home, situated away from the main house, which is registered for one young person. This is a privately owned home.

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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

Date of last inspection: 26 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children‟s home: SC020608 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make good progress in respect of their behavioural, social and emotional development.  Young people say that they like the staff, as they are friendly, easy-going and fun.  Staff are successful at engaging young people in a variety of positive activities that help young people to develop their self-esteem and confidence.  Good links with the provider‟s clinical team ensure that staff understand young people‟s emotional health needs.  Staff are proactive in supporting young people to attend school and make academic progress.  Staff work well with partner agencies to provide young people with coordinated care.  Staff take the necessary steps to protect those young people who are at risk of exploitation from others.  Young people have safe and positive contact with their families so that they do not feel isolated.  Staff receive good support through regular supervision and training. This

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Key findings from this inspection

contributes to the staff‟s clear commitment and dedication to young people.  Young people and staff benefit from consistent and enthusiastic leadership.

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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

 Staff do not adhere to their own fire safety procedures for those young people who are new to the home.  Young people are not always supported to understand their placement plans and contribute to these.  Staff do not consistently ensure that they keep case records up to date, and that all available information from partner agencies is available.  Damage and wear and tear in some parts of the home detract from the extent to which young people experience a homely and welcoming environment.  Staff do not always review risk assessments following meetings so that they contain the most up-to-date information about risk reduction strategies. Inspection report children‟s home: SC020608 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/05/2016 Full Requires improvement 09/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/10/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC020608 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 the requirements of Regulatory reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider should ensure that in line with the provider‟s current fire risk assessment the staff carry out fire drills with young people who are new to the home within 24 hours of their arrival. 15/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child, which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36(1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that they have copies of documents, including local authority care plans, and when relevant, statements of educational need and personal education plans. 15/10/2017

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Recommendations

 For children‟s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of the children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children‟s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations; however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than „institutional‟ impression („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.9). In particular, the registered provider will undertake the outstanding repairs required in the young person‟s bathroom, replace any damaged bedroom furniture and change the ripped stair carpet.  Ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risk to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any

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Recommendations

Inspection report children‟s home: SC020608 5 risks on a day-to-day basis („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 42, paragraph 9.5). In particular, the provider must ensure that risk management plans consistently provide staff with clear steps on how to manage risk related to those young people who go missing and may be at risk from child sexual exploitation.  Ensure that children are actively encouraged to read their records and to add further information to them. They should be regularly reminded of their rights to see information about how they might be supported to access their records in later life („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.6). In particular, the registered provider must ensure that young people read and understand their placement plans and have an opportunity to contribute to them.

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Recommendations

Inspection report children‟s home: SC020608 6

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff tailor the support they offer to young people to help them make progress in respect of their educational, emotional and behavioural development. An independent reviewing officer told the inspector, „The staff team that I have had contact with, have presented as knowledgeable about the young people that they are supporting within the placement, promoting their individual development and progression.‟ Young people make progress from their starting points as staff have a good understanding of their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Proactive staff encourage young people to attend school every day. Those young people who need it, benefit from staff attending school with them so that they have support when they need it most. A young person told the inspector, „They have pushed me in school, pushed me to my capability, and if I am off talking to someone they will prompt me to get back to my work.‟ Young people make academic progress due to the commitment and support they receive from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take opportunities, such as the drives to and from school, to talk to young people. Staff take a genuine interest in how young people are doing and offer them advice and guidance. A young person told the inspector, „When I need to talk to staff, they are there for me to talk to.‟ Young people benefit from attentive staff who have a good understanding of their emotional health needs. Furthermore, staff recognise the importance of young people maintaining regular contact with their families, and promote this by facilitating transport to and from visits to the their families when required. This ensures that young people do not feel isolated, helping young people to feel more settled in placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to develop the skills that they need for the future. For example, staff start by supporting young people to make a cup of tea, and then work towards young people being able to cook a full meal. Staff support young people to develop the basic skills that they will need to live independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people‟s engagement with a range of positive activities helps to them to have new experiences. Trips to the beach, rock climbing, gym sessions and camping trips ensure that young people are active and rarely bored. Young people have fun. Furthermore, regular activities promote young people‟s fitness and health and improve their self-esteem and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people like the look and feel of the home and all describe it as a nice place to live. In spite of this, wear and tear and damage caused by one young person detract from the appearance of the home. For example, there is recent damage to one young person‟s bedroom furniture, broken items in the bathroom and wear and tear on the stair carpet. Staff recognise the importance of young people living in a well-maintained home and work is already underway to address the damage. A recommendation is raised to ensure that the planned work is completed. Inspection report children‟s home: SC020608 7 Staff do not encourage young people to understand their placement plans. This is a missed opportunity for young people to contribute to their care. Despite this, regular key-work sessions and young people‟s meetings do allow young people to express their views and wishes. Staff respond to young people‟s requests promptly and advocate well

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

for them. For example, recently, staff supported one young person to make an external complaint in respect of a professional. As a result, young people do feel listened to.

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

Young people benefit from clear and consistent boundaries. This provides them with a sense of security and stability. A young person told the inspector, „I feel safe here. I am not sure why, I just feel happy here.‟

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

Staff use incentives and verbal praise to help young people to behave and make positive choices. Although all young people‟s behaviour improves, differing starting points mean that some young people still struggle to regulate their emotions at times. A social worker told the inspector, „Prior to him being placed in the placement he had a number of placement breakdowns. This is the most settled I have known him to be. The staff are really good with him.‟

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

Staff work collaboratively with the clinical therapy team to understand young people‟s behaviour. For example, staff recognise that one young person‟s aggressive outbursts are a result of his low self-esteem. Staff respond to the issues that cause young people‟s behaviours rather than reacting to the negative behaviours. A social worker said, „He has reached a level of stability there and I feel that staff understand his needs and are invested in his progress.‟ Staff support young people to develop their emotional resilience and manage their feelings of frustration and anxiety.

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

Young people who currently live in the home rarely go missing, which reflects how settled they are. When incidents do occur, staff respond. This prompt action minimises the potential risk to young people. Staff learn from each missing episode. They work hard to identify the reasons why young people go missing, and take steps to prevent reoccurrence.

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

Staff work effectively with partner agencies, including the police and placing authorities, to review young people‟s risk-taking behaviours and put in place appropriate strategies. Although staff take the right steps to protect those young people who are at risk of exploitation from others, risk management plans do not always reflect agreed strategies. This means that in some instances risk management plans do not support staff to understand how to keep young people safe.

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

Staff do not always adhere to the home‟s fire safety plans. For example, staff do not ensure that young people who are new to the home have the opportunity to take part in a fire evacuation drill within 24 hours of their arrival. However, staff provide young people with fire safety guidance on arrival at the home and subsequent fire evacuation drills occur at regular intervals. Inspection report children‟s home: SC020608 8

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager knows the staff and young people well. She has a level 4 national vocational qualification in leadership and management. She is a strong manager who leads the home well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager uses internal monitoring systems and independent reviews to understand the needs of the service and make improvements. The registered manager is proud of some of the positive changes implemented over the last 12 months, and shows a determination to continue to develop the service so that young people receive the best possible care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The use of agency staff has reduced since the last inspection. As a result, young people experience greater consistency. An experienced and knowledgeable staff team provides young people with personalised care, helping them to make good progress from their starting points. Staff receive regular supervision and appropriate training so that they have the skills and knowledge to meet young people‟s needs. This means that young people consistently receive care in line with the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective partnership working forms the cornerstone of the staff team‟s approach to meeting young people needs. A social worker told the inspector, „I feel like we really work well together and neither party makes a decision without input from the other. When we give information to [the young person] we present a united front.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff do not always ensure that they receive key documentation from partner agencies to support their understanding of how best to meet the needs of young people. For example, staff have not obtained up-to-date local authority care plans and statements of educational need for all young people. Inspection report children‟s home: SC020608 9

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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: SC020608 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons (Child Care) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hurstwood Court, New Hall Hey Road, Rawtenstall, Lancashire BB4 6HR

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Inspector

Paul Robinson: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC020608 11 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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