Children's Home run by Lifetime Opportunities Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 1 SC411046 Registered provider: Lifetime Opportunities Ltd

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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 privately owned. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children and young people who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 18 to 19 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: SC411046 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make good progress from the day they arrive.  Young people have very positive relationships with staff and other young people who they live with.  Young people are happy and safe at the home. They thrive in a caring and nurturing environment.  Staff have a very good understanding of the young people’s complex needs.  Staff communicate well with young people and use a range of strategies to ensure that young people understand.  Staff support young people to develop their individual interests.  Continuous and dedicated support enhances young people’s lives and enables them to achieve their full potential.  Young people engage well with education and make good progress in their learning and development.  Staff communicate effectively with families and support young people to have regular contact with them.  Staff work well with other agencies. Other agencies are extremely positive about 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

 The internal quality assurance system is not robust enough. Consequently, agreed actions are not always completed and recorded well.  Staff do not routinely follow the complaints policy.  Staff do not routinely follow health and safety procedures.  Recording is not clear. It is often inaccurate and ambiguous.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 3 12/07/2016 Full Good 08/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/09/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. In particular, ensure that the management and monitoring of case recording is robust so that young people’s assessments, plans and records are accurate and that they are reviewed in a timely way. (Regulation 13(1)(h)) 01/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedures to be followed in case of fire (Regulation 25(1)(d)) 01/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure from considering complaints made on or behalf of children. In particular, the registered person must ensure that a record is made of the complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39(1)(3)) 01/11/2017

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff 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). Specifically, that records contain accurate, sufficient detail that is not ambiguous. Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make positive progress while living at the home. The care they receive is excellent and it is reflective of their individual needs. Staff have a good insight into the complex needs of young people and their care plans are clear. Staff support young people to progress and take part in activities that that will positively challenge them. They do this in a sensitive and nurturing way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The relationships between young people and staff are very good. Young people have good relationships with each other. They enjoy doing joint activities together, for example gardening, swimming and going shopping. Young people are encouraged to develop their interests and try new things. One young person has recently accomplished swimming a length of the pool independently, which was a big achievement for them. Young people access out-of-school clubs, for example circus skills and holiday clubs. Young people benefit from these experiences. One young person has recently been on an activity holiday with their school. They really enjoyed the trip and they were able to go independently of staff. Young people benefit from a range of activities and experiences, which enable them to develop their practical and social skills. Furthermore, this supports them to develop independence and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to explore communication tools and use the ones that they find most effective. From here, they receive the help that they need to develop their communication skills further. This helps young people to communicate better. Furthermore, this has a positive impact on behaviour. For example, in one young person’s care plan there was an agreement that sign language would be the only communication tool that they used at home and school. This was working well for the young person, as they were developing more skills, and confidence in using their skills. In addition, their frustrations diminished and incidents of negative behaviour reduced considerably.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Clear behaviour guidelines are in place for young people. However, staff do not review and update these regularly enough. This means that behaviour management strategies are not always in line with current need. Young people receive support and guidance with regard to what is, and what is not, positive behaviour. When young people do display negative behaviours, staff are able to intervene effectively to prevent the incident from escalating. When incidents do escalate, staff have the required skills to manage them safely. Records to reflect the incidents are clear. However, while staff are provided with a debrief, the content of the discussion is not recorded well. Furthermore, the actions agreed are not completed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are doing well in their education and they are making very good progress. Staff have good relationships with the schools and liaise with them on a daily basis. One young person has recently benefited from using a communication device at school. This has allowed the young person to gain more independence and more confidence in their communication skills. They can now use up to eight words in a sentence. This supports Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 6 their learning and development both in and out of school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, calm and inviting. The environment meets young people’s needs. The home has the correct equipment in place, which enables young people to have access to all areas of their home. Young people are encouraged to personalise their home. There are pictures of young people and their families in the home. The Picture Exchange Communication System is consistently used throughout the home. This supports seamless communication and allows young people to understand their environment and daily routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from clear routines and boundaries, which have a positive impact on their behaviour, development and progress. Young people are involved in the running of the home. They have young people’s meetings. However, these are not always regular. Furthermore, the recording of the meeting is often a summary of issues, rather than a reflection of a young person’s voice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from having a children’s guide that they can understand. The complaints policy is clear. However, when a young person does complain, this is not always responded to as a complaint and subsequently the matter is not explored and concluded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to develop their independence skills. Young people benefit from the staff’s practical help and nurturing approach, which enable them to build confidence and to do things more independently. For example, the purchase of a shower seat has empowered a young person to take more responsibility for his personal care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive support to access the services that will assist them in meeting their identified needs. Staff liaise with other agencies well and feedback from these agencies is positive. One social worker said, ‘The staff have always provided ample information for reviews and clearly know and care for [name of young person] well.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have regular contact with their families. Young people enjoy spending time with their families. Where there are challenges with this, the registered manager and staff work together with the social worker to promote contact and seek ways to manage this safely. One parent said that they felt staff were supportive and flexible. They spoke about a recent outing and how the young person had really enjoyed it. This was also reflected in the photos that the young person showed the inspector during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote the achievements of the young people and praise them regularly. Young people thrive on this and it encourages them to develop their interests, skills and abilities. Monthly reports capture young people’s achievements. The registered manager shares these with social workers so that they can see the progress and achievements of young people. However, these reports are not always completed in a timely way. Therefore, there is sometimes a delay in information sharing. Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 7

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

Young people who live at the home are safe. Staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities with regard to keeping young people safe. Staff are very calm and caring in their approach and young people respond well to this. Young people benefit from a positive, nurturing and reassuring environment.

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

Young people’s placement plans are of a good standard, and reflect the young people well. Information is clear and the documents are easy to read. They refer to many other related documents, for example risk assessments. This takes the reader to other relevant and important information. However, assessments and plans are not subject to regular review, so information is not always up to date and accurate. There is a reliance on the communication book and verbal handovers to keep staff up to date on any changes to assessments and plans. While this generally provides staff with the information that they need, it is not robust enough; in some instances, staff are not aware of important information that they need in order to provide good care for young people.

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

Young people’s risk assessments and behaviour management plans are clear and easy to follow. Specific guidance is in place to support behaviour management. This guidance supports staff to understand young people’s triggers and the strategies that they should use for managing behaviour. The strategies are broken down into clear steps. This ensures that young people receive consistent care, support and guidance.

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

Staff and young people are clear about the standards of behaviour that are acceptable. Staff receive training on behaviour management and the safe use of restraint. Staff are able to respond quickly to issues that arise. Consequently, staff manage and de-escalate incidents effectively, with minimal need for physical intervention.

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

The recruitment and selection of staff is robust. Staff are vigilant and take appropriate steps to verify every visitor’s identity to protect young people. They are also vigilant regarding any neighbourhood concerns. Staff will assess the concern and record it. While there is a process in place for completing health and safety checks, this is not followed. For example, staff do not follow fire evacuation procedures. This does not ensure a safe living environment for young people and staff.

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

Staffing levels are good. This allows young people to have access to the levels of support that they need. In addition to this, it ensures that young people have the required safeguards in place, and that the management of need and risk is effective. The home also benefits from an on-call system, which supports any out-of-hours need. Young people benefit from being cared for by familiar staff. When staff from other homes and agency staff are used, the registered manager ensures that they are consistently the same people. This enables there to be continuous care for the young people.

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

The home has good links and positive relationships with other agencies. This supports the help that young people need in order to progress well and achieve good outcomes. Staff introduce young people to other professionals that are there to care for them and Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 8 keep them safe. For example, the local police community support officer has visited the young people to explain what their role is and how the police keep people safe. Staff advocate on the young person’s behalf and seek specialist advice on any concern they have about a young person’s well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably qualified and experienced manager, who has been registered with Ofsted since January 2013, manages the home. She has a level 5 diploma in leadership. The registered manager is child centred and knows the young people well. Staff are passionate about their work, and support the registered manager to run the home effectively, in line with the aims and ethos of the statement of purpose. The registered manager leads by example and all of the staff are committed to delivering high standards of individual care to the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are suitably qualified or working towards this. There is a mixture of well-established and new staff members within the team. The team members work well together and provide consistent care for young people. Young people are clearly responding well to this. They are happy, safe and making very good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that their line manager is approachable and supportive. Staff have access to the required training, and are committed to developing their knowledge and skills. However, staff do not receive regular supervision. This limits the opportunity for reflection and thus staff are not afforded the time to explore their practice and learn from their experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is also registered for another home within the company. However, there are currently no young people living there. The registered manager does, however, support other homes in the company both in her capacity as a manager and as a care worker. As a result, the manager is often on shift as a care worker in this home and in other homes within the company. This limits the time she has to manage the home. Consequently, management oversight is not consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has an external monitoring process. This supports the continuous improvement of the home. Nonetheless, this monitoring misses areas of practice that need attention and development. Internal monitoring of the home is not effective and management oversight is not robust enough. Consequently, practice does not benefit from the overview and scrutiny required and case recording is sometimes inaccurate and ambiguous.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. However, the development plan is generic and does not identify key areas for development. Furthermore, it fails to identify how the registered manager will monitor and evaluate progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The company is working towards an accreditation with the National Autistic Society. This Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 9 process is highlighting the company does well and what requires further development. Managers speak positively about this process. They are using the learning to enhance practice within the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Liaison with other agencies is good. Agencies speak positively about their relationships with the home and the progress that young people are making. One social worker said, ‘I have been very impressed with this placement and do feel that the huge progress that [name of young person] has made is down to the staff’s commitment to him.’ They go on to say that the care that young people receive is exemplary, and that young people’s needs are always at the forefront of the care that the staff provide.

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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: SC411046 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lifetime Opportunities Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Windsor House, Bayshill Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3AT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Shona Wands Alderson

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Inspector

Lisa Gregoire-Parker: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 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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