Children's Home run by Keys Educational Services Limited in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC363384 1 SC363384 Registered provider: Broadwood Education Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned, and provides care for four young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 19 to 20 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC363384 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make good progress. They make particularly good progress in education attendance and achievement, reducing their risk-taking behaviours and rebuilding family relationships.  Young people are relaxed around staff. Staff are supportive and caring.  Staff have a good understanding of the young people. This allows them to provide young people with good care, enabling good progress.  Most staff have worked in the home for a long time. This means that they are qualified and experienced.  Staff have a good understanding of how to keep young people safe. They provide firm boundaries and consistent care. This helps young people to feel safe and secure.  The registered manager is experienced and appropriately qualified. She provides strong and supportive leadership. She has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home.

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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

 Planning documentation, including risk assessments, does not address all identified needs. Furthermore, it is not individual to each young person.  Negative consequences are not recorded clearly. They appear disproportionate, are not restorative in nature and may lead to other negative behaviour.  Recruitment procedures do not fully protect young people.  The registered manager is due to leave the home a few days after this inspection, having given a month’s notice. There are no firm plans, with clear timescales, to recruit a new manager.  The registered manager has not had an appraisal since 2014.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 17/08/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC363384 3 11/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/08/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC363384 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff— (iv) provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6(1) and (2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that care plans provide staff with good information to enable them to provide an individual service for each child. 31/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

Appoint a person to manage the children’s home if— there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and the registered provider— is an organisation or a partnership; does not satisfy regulation 28; or is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. (Regulation 27(1)) 31/10/2017

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Recommendations

 Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report children’s home: SC363384 5  Ensure that the staff, with particular reference to sanctions, are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31–33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. In particular, ensure that all referees provide information about the suitability of candidates to work with children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. In particular, ensure that the registered manager receives an annual appraisal. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know and understand the young people very well. They provide good care, and help young people to make good progress. For example, young people make good progress with their education attendance and achievement. They also become more confident and mature. However, planning documents do not provide complete information about young people’s healthcare needs or identities. Information recorded in impact risk assessments and planning documents is too generic. It does not reflect the individuality of the young people. This means that the documents are not used in a meaningful way. Additionally, risk assessments do not address all identified risks. These include online safety when young people are using the internet through their games consoles. Although these recording issues have had no impact on young people on this occasion, there is the potential that important health and safeguarding information might

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people currently attend the on-site school. Attendance was mostly good last term. Young people have passed exams. They also have successfully attended alternative education sessions, such as classes on motorbike mechanics. Young people are hoping to get into a local college to continue with subjects that they enjoy, for example baking. One young person aspires to be a chef when he is older. Staff encourage him because they all agree he has a gift for baking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are generally in good health. They register with healthcare professionals Inspection report children’s home: SC363384 6 such as the doctor and the dentist. They also have access to therapeutic services from within the organisation, as well as child mental health services. Young people who were significant users of illegal substances have managed, with support from staff, to substantially reduce their use.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy a range of activities. They enjoy playing on their games consoles, visiting friends and doing tricks on their scooters at the local skatepark. They have enjoyed trips to theme parks and seaside resorts, as well as trampolining and go-karting. Activities help the young people to build their confidence, self-esteem and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from well-planned and well-facilitated contact with their families and friends. Staff help young people to rebuild relationships with people in their families. This ensures that young people have a good network of people to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager prefers young people to visit the home before their admission. This does not always occur when young people are admitted in an emergency. Some young people have not got on well in this home. This has been quickly recognised. A social worker said: ‘Over the summer they had another young person move in, which wasn’t a good combination. Staff handled this well and quickly identified that it wasn’t a good mix. Since the young person has moved on, behaviour has settled down again.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people successfully move to independent living. For example, a young person has recently moved into supported living accommodation. During his stable placement he learned to manage his money and free time effectively. He has good public transport skills. He also attends all his medical appointments, and has rebuilt important links with his family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a spacious home that provides comfortable communal areas. Some areas are currently being redecorated. The registered manager said that some rooms, such as the kitchen, are also going to be refurbished soon. Young people have private bedrooms with en-suite facilities.

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

Young people say that they feel safe and secure in the home. Staff have a good understanding of the home’s safeguarding procedures. Young people have secure and trusting relationships with staff.

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

Young people rarely go missing from the home. They sometimes refuse to return to the home on time after their free time, but stay in contact with staff. Additionally, staff know where the young people are. Young people return safe and well. Staff follow good procedures when young people do go missing, for example they will search for the young people and call the police if necessary.

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

Staff have good relationships with young people. This helps to promote positive behaviour. They also use financial incentives. They say that these help when young people are upset or angry. Staff often use humour to help a young person to become Inspection report children’s home: SC363384 7 calm. They may also give young people time and space to become calm, or take them out for a walk or a drive in the car. This means that they use restraint infrequently.

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

Staff use firm, consistent boundaries that help young people to behave in an acceptable way. A member of staff said: ‘We are all like a family. We all work in the same way.’ Although behaviour management strategies are generally effective, there have been instances in which the sanctions have not been carefully considered before being implemented. Some of these appear disproportionate, are not restorative in nature and may result in further negative behaviour. For example, a young person who was late returning to the home has not been allowed more free time for five days. This is disproportionate in the circumstances, and does not promote better behaviour because the young person cannot ‘earn back’ his free time through improved behaviour. When young people consider sanctions unnecessarily harsh, relationships may be damaged and negative behaviours may increase.

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

Negative consequences are not always recorded clearly. It is therefore difficult to understand the reasons for the negative consequence that has been imposed. For example, it is unclear how staff arrive at the figure that is charged for fuel costs.

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

Staff have been proactive in tackling bullying behaviour. Bullying has been discussed in key-working sessions and house meetings. Young people know that they can talk to staff if they have any concerns. Young people know how to make a complaint. There have been no complaints made since the last inspection.

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

Vetting procedures help to protect young people from unsuitable adults. Criminal record checks, medical checks and identification documents are sought and reviewed. References are received and verified. Basic employer references do not state the suitability of candidates to work with children. This has not been further explored through discussion when the reference is verified, or by asking for a more suitable reference.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and suitably qualified. However, she has handed in her notice and is due to leave within a few days of the inspection. The notice period was one month. The registered provider has been unable to appoint another manager in this time. They are also unable to provide a timescale of when a new manager will be registered. Nevertheless, a senior manager confirmed that no more young people will be admitted to the home until a new manager is appointed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has provided her team with strong and supportive leadership. She has a good relationship with young people. A police officer said: ‘The manager is a good role model and has worked at the home for quite some time. We don’t often have cause to be involved with this home, which is a tribute to the manager.’ A competent and qualified deputy manager ably supports the registered manager. Together they have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. They address shortfalls quickly and strive to improve outcomes for young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC363384 8 Retention of staff is good. Most staff have worked in the home for a long time. They are, therefore, qualified and experienced. This means that young people are able to form secure attachments with staff who are competent and skilled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff receive appropriate supervision and an annual appraisal. Staff feel well supported by the management team. However, the registered manager has not had an appraisal since 2014. The registered manager has not always felt fully supported during this time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed mandatory training. Training is a combination of online training and face-to-face training. Staff say that they feel the face-to-face training is most helpful.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social workers agree that staff communicate well with them. They say that staff are welcoming and helpful. They say that young people get on well with the staff, especially the registered manager.

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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: SC363384 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Broadwood Education Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: New Hall Hey Road, Rossendale BB4 6HR

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Inspector

Joanne Vyas: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC363384 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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Inspector

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