Children's Home run by Partners in Care Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report children's home: SC035049 1 SC035049 Registered provider: Partners in 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

A private organisation operates this children’s home. This service is registered for up to three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 27 to 28 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 requires improvement to be 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

 Young people leaving the home have moved on positively in line with their care plans, whether to foster care, family placements or semi-independent settings.  Young people admitted to the home settle well and begin to make progress from an early stage in their placement.  Where young people are not engaged in education, staff work with their placing authority to identify an appropriate educational placement. Learning is Inspection report children's home: SC035049 2 supported in the home until young people are enrolled in an education provision.  Staff have skills in developing positive relationships with young people. They offer emotional warmth and consistent care and boundaries, which makes young people feel safe and cared for.  Family contact is promoted and staff have a good understanding of the importance of contact for young people. Staff make frequent and long journeys to ensure that young people have regular contact with family and friends.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Risks for young people are understood. Risk assessments are clear, contain good detail and identify strategies for managing risks.  Staff go to great lengths to locate and return young people when they are missing. They work in partnership with other agencies to ensure a joined-up response to young people who go missing.  Staff feel supported in their roles, have opportunities to progress and receive regular supervision.  Managers understand the progress that young people are making and the reasons why progress falters. They are focused and committed to helping young people progress and move on positively.

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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 staff are mainly unqualified and some staff are inexperienced. Some staff who have been working in the home for more than two years have not yet attained the Level 3 diploma in residential childcare.  There has been no registered manager in post since July 2017. A deputy manager is covering the manager’s post, but is also needed for care shifts, which has put a strain on the staff team.  Young people’s bedrooms were in a poor state on inspection. They were very untidy with litter on the floor, stained walls and with some damaged furniture.  Significant incidents are not always notified to the regulator as required by regulation.  Matching assessments are not always robust and do not cover all aspects of risk. This has resulted in a placement being made in which a child was admitted to the home without a comprehensive assessment of the resident young people’s potential impact on her.  The independent visitor does not always contact social workers and

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Key findings from this inspection

professionals to gather feedback about the home, which limits the scope of the monitoring reports. Inspection report children's home: SC035049 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 11/10/2016 Full Outstanding 25/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 11/08/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children's home: SC035049 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, the 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 premises used for the purposes of the children’s home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

In particular children’s bedrooms should be decorated to a good standard and be kept clean and tidy and damaged furniture should be replaced. (Regulation 6(2)(c)(I)) 27/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13(2)(c)) 22/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(b)) 27/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44(2)(a)) 27/10/2017

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Recommendation

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) Inspection report children's home: SC035049 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people at this home have positive placement outcomes. Young people moving out of the home since the last inspection have transitioned in line with their care plans and views and wishes. For example, one young person has moved back to her home area to a semi-independent provision, one has moved to foster care and another is in the process of moving to a family placement in his home town after a period of over three years living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some young people have shown disruptive behaviours in the lead-up to their placements ending, which staff fully understand and support in the best ways they can. They encourage young people to talk about how they feel about moving on and show empathy when they break down the previously strong and close relationships that they shared with staff in preparation for their move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people admitted to the home settle quickly and develop positive relationships with staff. Young people spoken to during the inspection spoke highly of the staff, saying that they were kind and helped them and made sure that they got to go out and do lots of activities. Observation of interactions showed a high amount of emotional warmth and positive support and encouragement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key working is of a high standard. Young people feel listened to because they have a number of opportunities to express their views, including their key-working sessions, young people’s meetings and day-to-day interactions. Young people’s meetings are used as a forum to educate young people in a range of areas. Staff are creative in devising activities to interest and engage young people in the topics discussed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is supported and promoted within the home. Where young people do not have an identified education provision, staff work alongside the placing authority to identify an appropriate school. They also support young people’s learning in the home through reading and educational activities. One young person was interested and engaged by a recycling project for which they received a certificate and a lot of praise. Another young person attended school for examinations and achieved well, which showed significant progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are helped to achieve good health. They are registered with services and are supported to attend appointments. When young people are missing from the home but their whereabouts are known, staff visit daily to administer medication as prescribed. When young people are on family contact, staff make daily telephone calls to check that their prescribed medication has been administered. Some young people are keen to be involved in healthy activities such as swimming, walking, roller-skating and days out. These activities are promoted on a daily basis and, in some cases, are combined with education. For example, one child was taken for a walk and collected acorns and conkers, which tied in with education activities around seasons. Inspection report children's home: SC035049 6 Contact with family and friends is promoted. One young person is transported to his home town on an almost daily basis to build and further develop his networks there, in

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

preparation for transition to a family placement. Another young person is also supported to attend regular contact, including a gymnastics class in her home area, which promotes continuity for her. Family members spoken to were unanimous in their praise for the home and the staff team, feeling that their children were well supported and were making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s bedrooms are not always kept to a good standard of cleanliness and tidiness. Although staff offer support to clean and tidy personal space, on inspection the bedrooms were very untidy with litter and clothing on the floor, some had stained walls and furniture had been written on. Although this was addressed during the inspection, a requirement is made to reflect the improvements that were required.

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

Risks for young people are identified and understood. Risk assessments are clear and detailed and any additions or updated information are easy to identify.

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

Some young people are at risk of child sexual exploitation. Specialist workers from child sexual exploitation teams have visited weekly to undertake direct work with the young people to increase their knowledge and awareness of the risks. Further work is completed within key-worker sessions which cover case studies, cases in the news and online specialist resources. Where high risks are identified, the home tries to work with young people’s social workers to reduce these risks, although when parents retain full parental responsibility for their children, the home’s has limited ability to prevent young people accessing social media and exposing themselves to risks.

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

Young people spoken to reported feeling safe within the home and one stated specifically that what made her feel safe was staff tucking her in ‘as snug as a bug’ at night-time.

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

Railway safety, road safety and stranger danger are topics covered in young people’s meetings where these are age-appropriate. Staff source YouTube videos to support young people’s education and awareness of risk. Bullying is also covered in young people’s meetings and, on one occasion, a young person brought to the meeting a story about bullying that was discussed, which evidences good participation and engagement.

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

Going missing from home is an issue particularly affecting one young person who persistently went missing while on contact in her home area, having expressed a very clear desire to return to that area. Staff are proactive in locating and returning young people who have gone missing. If they refuse to return, then staff visit on a daily basis to monitor their safety and welfare and provide food, clothing and medication. Independent return interviews do not always take place, but are always requested by managers, who also request multi-agency meetings for those young people who frequently go missing, to review strategies for managing incidents. When young people do go missing, there is evidence that the home works in partnership with external Inspection report children's home: SC035049 7 agencies to promote a coordinated response.

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

Self-harm training is provided for staff so that they can respond to incidents when they arise. Self-harm is discussed with young people where this is a known risk, and they are encouraged to speak to staff and share their concerns when they feel that they may harm themselves. Notebooks are provided to young people who cannot express their feelings in words, and physical comfort and reassurance are offered, which ensures that young people know that they are cared about. Alternative strategies are discussed to help young people find different ways of coping with their feelings/emotions. Medical attention is sought as appropriate when young people injure themselves, whether accidentally or deliberately.

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

Where there are concerns that young people may be using illegal substances, young people are always challenged about this and clearly informed that should any evidence of this be found, then the police will be informed.

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

There are clear boundaries in place for young people. Positive consequences outweigh sanctions and there is emphasis of reinforcing and rewarding positive behaviours. Some staff are highly skilled in managing escalating behaviours, these tending to be staff who have worked in the home for longer periods and are therefore more experienced and have developed stronger relationships with young people. All consequences are reviewed by managers for effectiveness, which ensures that they are appropriate and can be flexible to best meet the young person’s needs.

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

Restraint is used infrequently in the home. The few incidents reported are recorded in good detail, with clear management oversight for effectiveness and learning. Managers identify where further learning needs to take place and clearly record an outcome. Records cross-reference to changes in care planning, positive handling plans and behaviour management plans, as well as identifying risk issues to be picked up in key- work sessions.

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

Most staff have had training around radicalisation and extremism. Young people in placement do not have high risks in these areas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home has been operating without a registered manager since July 2017. A deputy manager is currently filling the role of manager but no one has yet been recruited to the manager’s post. The experience and expertise of the deputy manager mean that she is needed on care shifts at times when young people are unsettled and show increased challenges. This creates a significant challenge for her to manage both roles simultaneously. There have also been some staff shortages because of illness which have resulted in staff covering additional shifts and becoming tired at times. Positively, the staff understand the importance of consistency and continuity for the young people and strive to ensure that they are always cared for by staff whom they know.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff team is relatively new and inexperienced, which results in times when there are Inspection report children's home: SC035049 8 shifts where no member of staff is qualified to level 3 diploma in residential childcare. There are also staff members who have been employed at the home for more than two years and have not yet achieved the level 3 diploma as required by regulation. The lack of qualification and experience in the staff team has resulted in a requirement being made. However, staff spoken to during the inspection were extremely knowledgeable about the young people’s care needs and were able to articulate the progress that they had made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers at the home have detailed and thorough monitoring systems in place which are updated throughout the month and contribute to a monthly monitoring report which covers all aspects of the home’s performance. This thorough monitoring activity ensures that managers are alert to any areas for improvement and are fully aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. Managers have a clear understanding of the progress that young people are making in relation to their plans and have achieved some highly positive outcomes for young people. Managers have detailed oversight of all documentation and records and provide evaluation on many records, which enables them to identify areas for staff development and changes needed in the home’s practices to better meet the individual needs of the young people placed. External monitoring visits occur every month and reports are sent to the regulator. The recommendations

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

from the report are included within the team meeting minutes and are acted on. The independent visitor has not sought feedback from parents or professionals routinely to inform his monitoring activities and a requirement is made in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Multi-agency working is embedded into practice and records evidence that partner agencies are communicated with regularly and consulted about young people’s plans and progress. Managers use feedback from young people to improve their experience of living in the home. Young people’s needs are clearly prioritised and their views are listened to. Where young people are clear in their wish to move on from the home, managers work with the young person’s social worker to ensure a planned, positive transition into their preferred placement. Managers understand the impact on progress when young people are not in the placement of their choice, or when they feel that they are not being listened to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff report that the team has good morale and that they have worked closely to support each other through a challenging period (in respect of the home having no registered manager, staffing shortages and two young people preparing for transition). They report very good support and supervision from the acting manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers complete a detailed referral impact assessment for any new placement to consider whether young people can be matched. On one occasion, the risks of the resident young people upon a referred young person were not fully considered, nor was the significance of the large age gap between the youngest and the oldest resident given full consideration. Although the newly admitted young person has settled and is making good progress, there is evidence that the older young people had some negative impact on her and therefore a recommendation is made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Not all significant events have been notified to the regulator. An eight-year-old child Inspection report children's home: SC035049 9 went missing while out on an activity. Although only missing for a short time, the child was highly vulnerable due to her age and known risk factors. This should have been notified as a serious incident, but was not.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers promote equality and diversity within the home. Equality and diversity are standing agenda items in staff team meetings and young people are engaged in equality and diversity activities through their young people’s meetings. Staff try to use current topics to educate young people about equality and diversity issues.

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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: SC035049 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Partners in Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rouse House, 2 Wyther Lane, Kirkstall, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS5 3BT

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Inspector(s)

Charlie Bamber, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC035049 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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