Children's Home run by Channels and Choices Limited in Kent

Inspection report children’s home: SC408584 1 SC408584 Registered provider: Channels and Choices 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 to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private organisation. It offers therapeutic residential care.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: outstanding

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children who have previously experienced complex and challenging events are engaging positively and making progress from their starting points.  The staff are dedicated to enabling the children to experience safe, predictable and consistent care. Inspection report children’s home: SC408584 2  The children are making progress in education. There is good communication and partnership work between the home and school staff.  The children enjoy a range of community-based social groups and they enjoy friendships outside the home.  The registered manager and team make good use of therapeutic thinking time to reflect on their practice and develop new strategies to support the children.  The children have access to a range of specialist resources, designed to improve their mental health and emotional well-being.

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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

 Protracted periods of unsettled behaviour have impacted on the service.  Recording and reporting has slipped due to the staff’s focus on behaviour management.  Medication recording is not meeting required standards.  Health and safety monitoring does not currently cover weekly checks of carbon monoxide alarms.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/08/2016 Full Outstanding 22/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/11/2015 Full Good 12/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC408584 3

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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

12. (1) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2) In particular, the standard requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(i) Specifically, risk assessments for children must be individualised. 10/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes all required information; and within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person") has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(i-viii) (b)(i)(ii)(c)) In particular, records must be clear and staff must sign records before they leave their shift. 10/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicine. (Regulation 23(1)) This specifically refers to recording medication when it is refused. 10/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

11. In order to meet the positive relationships standard, the registered person must ensure that they communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the 10/11/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC408584 4 child’s age and understanding. In addition to this, help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful. (Regulation 11(1)(i)(iii) and (vi)) The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse and neglect and sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation or neglect. (Regulation 34(1)(a)(b)) Specifically, incorporate the PREVENT agenda into the home’s

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that the registered person must ensure that the premises used for the purpose of the home meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(2)(c)(i) Specifically, give urgent consideration to the practicality and suitability of having a boiler located in a child’s bedroom. 10/11/2017

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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; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) 10/11/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The therapeutic ethos of this home is embedded in everything that the staff do for the children. Wherever possible, the leaders and managers meet with the children as part of the matching process. The children’s guide reliably explains what is on offer and introduces the child to the home’s day-to-day routines. Families and friends are welcomed to the home to enable children to maintain key relationships. The staff are skilled in supporting children to overcome difficulties and, where appropriate, rebuild relationships that have been disrupted. The complexities of the children’s needs are well understood and met, and the staff appreciate the need for children to enjoy the experience of childhood. All of the children can access therapeutic support at the home and at the organisation’s school. The staff are skilled in delivering therapeutic care and work cohesively across the care and education settings. Specialist assessments and interventions are provided to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

enable the children to work through difficult thoughts and feelings. As a result of this, some of the children have made significant progress and others are engaging well in the therapeutic work. Inspection report children’s home: SC408584 5 The consistent quality of relationships enables the children to build trust and confidence in talking about difficult thoughts and feelings. As a result of this, the children have been able to talk to staff about their fears, behaviours and complex family relationships. Daily meetings ensure that the children’s views and opinions are threaded into the running of the home. However, a period where meetings have been missed due to the difficult inter-personal dynamics in the children’s group has been prolonged and staff have not consistently recorded why meetings haven’t taken place. Behaviour management has been a particular focus in the home. Staff made effective

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

use of therapeutic thinking time to analyse the dynamics that led to a rise in physical interventions. Although the group of children had changed, the negative behaviour did not reduce directly and opportunities to call on additional guidance were missed. As a result of this, the children and staff experienced a protracted period of unsettled behaviour. Shortfalls were identified in the recording and administration of medication. Documentation does not consistently record when a young person refuses to take their prescribed medication. The organisation does not have a clear process to report, record and investigate medication errors. No children have come to harm as a result of this error.

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improvement to be good

Children at this home feel safe and all describe trusted staff they can talk to. All staff have received safeguarding training. The staff have the knowledge of what to report, to whom and when should concerns arise. Allegations are well evidenced, reports are clear and transparent and communication with social workers and the designated officer is prompt and effective. During this inspection, staff did not raise any safeguarding concerns in relation to the quality of care the children receive. Regular key-work sessions take place in line with goals identified as part of placement plans. Progress is monitored monthly and children are engaged in this process. However, one child had not received any key work on a highlighted risk area involving the use of social media. The child had access to two mobile phones, and there was a history of concerns regarding her vulnerability. However, there was no evidence of staff setting out

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improvement to be good

clear expectations regarding the child’s use of social media and her mobile phones. Consequently, management of this specific risk was underdeveloped. On rare occasions when a child has gone missing from the home, staff employed a coordinated response. Missing protocols are followed and immediate searches undertaken. The staff communicate with the child’s network and actively seek to find them. Missing from care reports detail the actions taken to locate the child and ensure their safe return. However, risk assessments and care plans do not reflect information learnt from missing from care episodes. As a result, the risk assessments and care plans do not reliably inform staff what to look out for, or of any known location a child may go to. Risk assessments for children are generic. Samples seen included health and safety risk assessments in children’s files. However, the children’s individual risks, such as their

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improvement to be good

Inspection report children’s home: SC408584 6 vulnerability online and risk of going missing, were not included in the records. Some risk assessments had been in place for some time with no signatures; as a result, it could not reliably be known if staff had read or understood them. Consequently, risks are not comprehensively known or planned for, and there is a lack of effective strategies in place to guide staff on what to do. The use of physical intervention has been high for a protracted period of time. Leaders and managers have failed to seek further advice and guidance regarding strategies to reduce these instances. This has impacted negatively on staff morale, and other areas such as the recording and reporting have fallen short. The quality of physical intervention records has deteriorated and staff frequently fail to sign the records before leaving work. More recently, a reduction in restraint has occurred and the home is now

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improvement to be good

calm. This is attributed to several factors, including, for one child, a reduction in medication, and repairing family relationships. Behaviour management plans in place contain clear guidance for staff on how to manage challenging behaviour. However, the shortfalls in records being signed and understood by staff have contributed to the high number of physical interventions. Allegations have been made against staff when recognised methods of intervention have not been used. Managers are quick to respond in such circumstances and staff have been suspended without prejudice while investigations take place. This is good safeguarding practice. All young people have individual behaviour management plans, with clear guidance for staff on how to manage challenging situations. A restorative approach to promoting positive behaviour is taken. The number of physical restraints of young people is low. However, in a recent incident, an experienced member of staff who was new to the

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improvement to be good

home initiated a physical intervention without reading the associated risk assessment. This resulted in an inappropriate hold being used on a young person. The registered manager quickly addressed this matter in a supervision session with the member of staff involved. The staff undertake regular health and safety checks around the home to ensure the safety of the environment. There are personal evacuation plans in place for each child and all can participate in fire drills. With staff support, each child knows how to exit the building in the event of a fire. The home is generally comfortable and welcoming. However, action following remedial work required as a safety check in July has not taken place. A carbon monoxide monitor had not had the batteries changed and, on inspection, the batteries had leaked. This was immediately rectified by the registered manager during the inspection. There is no monitoring system in place for the carbon

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improvement to be good

monoxide monitor. Consequently, the protective factor of health and safety is not sufficiently monitored or effectively managed. More critically, this was in a bedroom area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post for nine years. She has a proven track record within the organisation and is suitably qualified. She is aware of the difficulties that the home has undergone of late and, to her credit, is realistic about the areas of improvement highlighted during this inspection. Her commitment to the children and Inspection report children’s home: SC408584 7 staff is evident in her dedicated approach, as is her wish to ensure that she is supporting the children and her team to ensure the best possible outcomes. Feedback from other agencies commends the complex work the staff have undertaken with the children. An independent reviewing officer commented, ‘They have worked wonders with a child who presents incredible challenges to his carers. The staff really have helped him to progress amazingly well. He was scared of everything at first, but with their careful support I now I see a child who can really enjoy life.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training, policies and procures regarding child sexual exploitation have been updated. They provide clear directions for staff on the descriptors, signs and processes to follow should they become worried a child is at risk. However, not all staff are trained in PREVENT and the policy falls short of describing what and how radicalisation might impact on the children, or what steps to follow in terms of recording and reporting such concerns. Risk assessments do not consistently highlight this area of concern, despite its relevance for the home. Case records are variable in quality and consistency. The staff have struggled to keep up with the volume of restraint and incident records due to the protracted period of unsettled behaviour. The manager has made attempts to address these shortfalls. Evidence of this was seen in team meeting records and with prompts displayed on the staff office wall. However, staff have become overwhelmed with the volume of physical

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

interventions and gaps are still evident in records. Some recording is repetitive, for example completing an incident report when a physical intervention takes place. This has further impacted on the staff’s ability to maintain good-quality, accurate records. The manager has monitoring systems in place. However, the current systems lack effective strategies for tasks highlighted to be completed. Delegation of such tasks, for example to the deputy manager, are not currently in place. As a result of this, the manager highlights areas for action, but fails to delegate a responsible person to ensure that the tasks are competed in a timely manner. Staff benefit from regular therapeutic thinking time and supervision. Opportunities for case discussions are regular. However, this recent period of unsettled behaviour in the home has distracted staff from being strategically effective because they have been immersed in reactive behaviour management. However, the registered manager and her

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

team are working closely together and are committed to improving the service. Development plans include a review of the recording and delegation of tasks to ensure more effective and timely completion of tasks.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC408584 8 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: SC408584 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Channels and Choices Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 31 St Georges Place, Canterbury, Kent CT1 1XD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Martin Scholfield

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Inspector

Sarah Olliver, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC408584 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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