Children's home run by Cherry Cottage Limited in Wigan

Inspection report children’s home: SC398367 1 SC398367 Registered provider: Cherry Cottage 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 children’s home is one of two homes that are operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who have learning disabilities, and emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 September 2017

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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: 28 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC398367 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people live in a welcoming, family environment where they are making significant progress in all aspects of their social and emotional development.  Staff know young people extremely well and have very positive relationships with them. Consistent approaches and routines provide security and stability that have assisted young people to increase their self-confidence.  Staff consistently follow individual behaviour management plans, supporting young people to manage their fears and anxieties in a calm manner.  Managers and staff are proactive and child-focused. Multi-agency working is vital to ensure that young people gain the correct level of support, providing a holistic approach in meeting specific care needs.

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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

 Independent interviews for young people who have been missing from the home are not always undertaken. This is a missed opportunity for young people to talk to someone independently and share any worries or concerns about the time they were away from the home. Managers have challenged this issue with young people’s placing authority and plan to escalate this shortfall to a higher management level.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff are up to date with current themes and trends such as child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. The manager regularly reviews the home’s area risk assessment and strategies for managing this. She is keen to develop this further by evaluating the risks related to child sexual exploitation and radicalisation.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/10/2016 Full Good 18/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/09/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC398367 3

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. ( ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Recommendations

 The review of the home’s premises should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location in relation to child sexual exploitation, radicalisation and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are thriving from the care that they receive from a stable staff team. Staff are very consistent in their approach to supporting and encouraging young people. This has assisted young people to make progress in all aspects of their development. For example, young people have gained achievements in education, they are developing independent living skills and are keeping themselves safe. This approach has provided stability and security and has enabled all young people to achieve their individual goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a welcoming environment with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Staff support young people to personalise the home with their own artwork. Staff take a genuine interest in young people’s hobbies and interests and support them to develop their individual talents. This has included sourcing a project for the young people to help improve the local community. For the project, young people designed different cartoons and legally sprayed them over expletives that had been written on bridges and walls. This creative approach has increased young people’s self-confidence and self-esteem and developed a sense of worth and belonging. This also resulted in a young person feeling confident to attend an art course at a local college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have developed positive relationships with staff and each other. Staff teach them to care about each other’s feelings and those of others in the community. Young people invited their family members, social workers and staff to a Macmillan coffee morning and undertook a memory walk. Staff teach young people to make positive decisions. For example, after finding an amount of money in the community, a young person chose to spend it on meal deals that she gave to homeless people. This act of giving means that young people have gained a sense of joy, satisfaction and Inspection report children’s home: SC398367 4 compassion.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff enable young people to attend their educational provision. They work with education staff, communicating regularly to provide consistency and structure. The communication between the two disciplines is effective. Staff make sure that young people receive the right level of education for their needs. For example, managers challenge education staff on behalf of young people. They ensure that young people receive full-time education. This results in young people making excellent progress and receiving achievement awards. A member of educational staff said, ‘The staff communicate well with school. They always keep me informed, especially if there are any issues that they feel I need to know about. We have regular network meetings and [Name of child] has made exceptional progress in school.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s meetings provide a forum for staff to gain young people’s views on their food preferences and recreational activities. This helps staff to support young people in their daily care. Staff support and assist young people to prepare for review meetings. They source independent advocates for some young people who support them to prepare and communicate their wishes and feelings. This positive approach has resulted in some young people attending these meetings, providing other agencies and staff with a good insight and understanding of the young person and their specific needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote young people’s physical and emotional well-being. Staff track young people’s health needs. They provide young people with support to ensure that routine appointments are up-to-date. Staff work with the organisational therapist to provide the right level of care for young people’s specific needs. Staff teach young people to organise their own medical appointments and to self-medicate. Some young people put their appointment dates into a wall calendar and are able to order repeat prescriptions. This creative technique increases self-confidence and prepares young people for independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have assessed and supported young people to maintain contact with their family. Staff recognise the potential impact that contact can have on individual young people and group living. Staff identify when contact is unsafe. They work with placing authorities and families to make sure that there is an adequate level of supervision. This enables young people to integrate into life outside of the home and affords consistent care experiences for them.

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

Staff know young people well and understand the triggers that may affect young people’s behaviour. They work sensitively with young people, providing opportunities to talk about issues that worry them. Staff anticipate situations that may cause a change in behaviour. They develop effective strategies with young people to help manage these calmly. This has included gradually increasing confidence to help one young person travel on public transport without staff.

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

Staff show a strong commitment to overcoming difficult and challenging behaviour. Clear consistent boundaries provide young people with stability. This assists in contributing to Inspection report children’s home: SC398367 5 their well-being and security. Physical intervention is only used to keep young people safe. For example, staff occasionally need to guide young people away from unsafe situations. Staff use positive rewards and praise. Young people have individual reward charts that identify areas for improvement, such as improving their personal safety, respecting boundaries, improving attitudes towards others and time management. Staff provide young people with a variety of rewards, such as posters and vouchers. This has reduced the use of negative sanctions.

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

Staff update risk assessments when the risks factors change. Young people contribute to their risk management plans. They tell staff what makes them angry and what they need staff to do to help them. For example, one young person explained that it was frustrating when staff said ‘no’ without any explanation. Staff reviewed their practice and ensure that a clear explanation is given. This helps staff to support young people to manage their behaviour. It has assisted in reducing incidents and has supported young people to remain calm.

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

Since the last full inspection, there has been eight episodes when young people have gone missing from the home. This is a reduction in the numbers of missing events. When young people are missing, staff have attempted to locate them. Staff inform relevant agencies, including the police and the young person’s social worker. Staff keep young people who are at risk of sexual exploitation safe. They work with specialist agencies to ensure that risks are reduced. However, young people are not provided with an independent return home interview. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that young people are supported to share their anxieties or concerns with someone independent of the home. The registered manager has challenged the placing authority but they have failed to take appropriate action. The manager plans on escalating this to higher management.

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

Staff employed at the home are subject to organisational vetting procedures. They do not start work in the home until all appropriate checks are complete. This means that young people are protected from persons who may present a risk to them. All fire, gas and electrical equipment is routinely serviced. This ensures that it is in good working order and that the environment is safe.

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

The home has developed effective links with specialist agencies in respect of risk assessment and young people. The manager regularly reviews the home’s area risk assessment. He identifies risks within the community and strategies for managing these. However, further consideration is needed of the risks associated with radicalisation and child sexual exploitation within the home’s locality. This improvement will provide staff with a knowledge and understanding of the potential risks within the area. It will provide clear strategies for staff to follow to ensure that they can safeguard young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2017. He is suitably experienced and has a level 5 diploma in leadership and management. He is an enthusiastic and motivated leader who has good oversight of the home. He is committed to delivering quality care Inspection report children’s home: SC398367 6 and supporting young people to achieve positive outcomes. An experienced deputy manager supports him. The two work well together to ensure that the best interests of young people remain at the heart of all they do. A member of education staff said, ‘The staff are very friendly, professional and have the young people’s needs uppermost in their minds at all times.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive support from the managers and have regular supervision and appraisals. This provides staff with the opportunity to reflect on their practice and provide young people with specific care for their needs. Informal support and regular team meetings mean that everyone is up to date with young people’s daily activities and progress. The manager promotes staff development. Staff are either qualified or working to complete a recognised qualification. Mandatory and specific training keeps staff well informed about aspects of young people’s needs. This supports staff to develop their knowledge so that they can safeguard young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care and placement plans are individualised. They provide a valuable point of reference for staff to follow. The manager has high expectations of his staff. He motivates them to be creative and evaluative in the work that they do. The manager monitors the quality of care. He learns from practice and seeks feedback from young people to improve their care experience. He has clear oversight of young people’s specific plans. He makes sure that they are meaningful and achievable and is able to show the progress that they have made .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager welcomes the monthly visits from the independent visitor and benefits from the feedback. He uses these visits and the quality of care to review and monitor the home’s progress. He evaluates how he can improve the service for young people. He reflects on and evaluates care practice and sources new experiences to enrich young people’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has strong links with a number of external services, promoting a collaborative approach to ensure that young people’s needs are met. These relationships provide direct support for young people and provide staff with information, training and support which assist them in meeting young people’s needs. This is effective in helping young people to make positive progress in terms of their individual goals, including keeping themselves safe from harm. An educational professional commented, ‘The staff communicate well with school and keep me informed if there are any issues that they feel I need to know about.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirement made at the last inspection has been met. The organisation has committed to recruiting a stable staff team. This has assisted young people to feel settled and secure in their home. Physical intervention has significantly reduced. Young people are making good progress in education. They are growing in self-confidence and self-esteem. The manager is committed to focusing on more detailed independence work with young people. He has sourced interactive tools to help young people to work towards adulthood. Inspection report children’s home: SC398367 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 differences 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: SC398367 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cherry Cottage Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 28 Finch Mill Avenue, Appley Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire WN6 9DF

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Kathryn Sheehan-Jones

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Inspector

Jo Hornby, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC398367 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 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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