Children's Home run by Bay View Child Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: SC416318 1 SC416318 Registered provider: Bay View Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home, registered to provide care and accommodation for four young people.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 25 to 26 September 2017

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

None. Inspection report children’s home: SC416318 2

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make significant progress from their starting points.  Young people feel safe and are safe. Incidents are extremely rare.  The de-escalation of serious incidents is a strength of the staff team. As a result, physical interventions are minimal and young people do not go missing.  Staff know the likes and dislikes of young people, and encourage them to engage in activities.  Staff advocate for young people. Young people feel cared for and listened to.  Key-working sessions are planned and purposeful. They benefit young people and support their progress.  Management oversight of the home is good. The registered manager addresses any identified shortfalls in staff practice quickly.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Young people who are not in education should be provided with opportunities to promote their learning  If a young person is injured during a physical intervention, a full debriefing about how the young person believed that the injury occurred should be captured.  When safeguarding concerns are raised about a young person living at the home, the concerns should be shared immediately with the placing authority for the child and the authority that the home is situated in.  A risk assessment for young people moving into the home should be undertaken, shared and understood by all staff involved with the young person’s care.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/11/2016 Full Outstanding 02/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/11/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC416318 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard

p.3

Requirement Due date

Take children’s views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives; with particular regard to a detailed debriefing, following injury during a physical intervention. (Regulation 7(1)(c)) 31/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

Support each child to engage in activities which promote learning outside of formal education and training provision. (Regulation 8(2)(a)(v)) 31/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

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)) 31/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

34: Policies for the protection of children

p.3

Requirement Due date

Provide for the prompt referral of an allegation about current or ongoing abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the home is located (Regulation 34(2)(b)) 31/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report children’s home: SC416318 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff were observed to show genuine warmth and regard to young people. Staff are good at providing personalised care. They take the time to come to know young people and they draw on young people’s strengths. Staff are skilled in supporting and enabling young people to engage in activities which meet their individual needs. Young people have the opportunity to try activities such as climbing, trampolining and undertaking ‘fun runs’ for local charities. This has given them the chance to discover new talents and enjoy new positive experiences. This increases young people’s self-esteem and confidence.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy excellent relationships with all the staff team. A professional said: ‘He is more at ease with himself and uses his key-worker sessions well. I am sure it is these sessions, along with the way staff have worked with him, that has led to (child) being so at ease and self-assured.’ Staff make sure that the key-worker sessions are purposeful and that they meet the aims of the placement outlined in young people’s placement plans. Key-working sessions cover a range of topics, such as anger management, health, moving on from the home and reducing risk-taking behaviours. These sessions are effective, and young people learn how to manage difficult situations, such as meetings with social workers and other professionals.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are good advocates for young people. One professional said: ‘It must be emphasised that the (child)care team, led by (registered manager), were his strongest advocates… they were persistent and aspirational for him.’ This has ensured, for example, that they all receive the specialist services that they require to meet their specific and more complex needs.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress from their starting points. Staff work with the local authority education coordinator to support young people back into some form of formal learning. Some young people have made exceptional progress in their education. For example, one young person has recently left the home with nine GCSEs. Another, having passed his level 2 in horticulture, is now on a level 3 course. A member of the care team said: ‘We work extremely well with the young people, setting firm boundaries and guidelines. Communication is good between us and we come up with plans together, with the young people, such as focusing on future goals in life. The young people have positive relationships with all the staff, who act as mentors.’

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people new to the home who are waiting for education to be arranged spend long periods each day on the home’s game console. Opportunities for staff to provide formal learning outside of the educational environment are missed. As a result, young people quickly lose the routine of attending school, and their education suffers.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This staff team has a proven ability to re-establish and maintain constructive family contact arrangements for young people. It then ensures that contact remains a positive Inspection report children’s home: SC416318 5 experience for all involved. This strengthens their sense of identity. Staff ensure that young people have opportunities to develop the practical and social skills needed to manage their lives successfully as adults. One professional said: ‘Staff are appropriately supporting him to develop his independent skills, and he is always supported to pursue his interests and identity.’ They are, therefore, already competent in doing their own laundry and using public transport, and are really enjoying food shopping, cooking and baking. They have good personal hygiene, and take pride in their appearance and in keeping their bedrooms clean and tidy. One young person had secured himself a part-time job over the summer. Another young person took part in

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Outward Bound course with college. These examples demonstrate a significant increase in their self-esteem and confidence since moving to this home.

p.5

improvement to be good

Young people feel safe and are safe. Good-quality risk assessments which are child focused provide staff with clear guidance on how to keep most young people safe. They are regularly updated.

p.5

improvement to be good

On one occasion, staff did not write a risk assessment for a young person new to the home. Without a risk management plan to share identified risks with staff, the young person had the opportunity to engage in risk-taking behaviour. This impacted on his day-to-day safety and experiences. On this occasion, staff used physical intervention to escort the young person into a car and, from the car, into the home’s lounge. Although this proved effective, it was not in accordance with the individual behavioural support plan. As a result, staff did not place the well-being of the young person at the centre of their practice irrespective of the challenges that they were presented with. Moreover, during the physical intervention, the young person sustained an injury. The debriefing the following day used a set of questions which did not explore, from the young person’s perspective, how the injury occurred. This fails to safeguard young people.

p.5

improvement to be good

However, care is generally taken when engaging young people in activities and, as a result, these are well planned and risk assessed. This has contributed to a reduction in incidents at the home. A social worker said: ‘ I have been to numerous children’s homes, and this is one of the best ones I have been to. If there is a serious incident, they tell me. My young person has had no physical interventions. Staff have talked him down and calmed him down, and I have witnessed that. Members of staff have been able to develop a positive relationship with him.’

p.5

improvement to be good

Staff engage in regular safeguarding training. The registered manager ensures that staff understand how to report safeguarding concerns. The manager has taken action when safeguarding concerns have arisen, and this has supported young people’s safety. However, the lack of referralof these to the local authority where the home is situated, together with the timeliness of the referral, has left young people vulnerable and exposed a young person in the community to inappropriate online communication. This fails to protect the wider community in which the young people live. Inspection report children’s home: SC416318 6 This staff team de-escalates challenging behaviours effectively without the use of restraint and/or resorting to police intervention. Consequently, there has been only one restraint in respect of the young people currently living at this home since the last full inspection in November 2016. Young people receive positive rewards for good behaviour

p.5

improvement to be good

and effort, which is proving to be effective in encouraging young people to demonstrate positive behaviour. All the young people are on individualised incentive charts and are actively involved in negotiating consequences. One young person said, ‘I get lots of rewards here for being good, like Xbox points.’ All the required health and safety checks are undertaken at the required frequencies to ensure a safe environment for young people, staff and visitors.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2013. He is appropriately qualified. All but one of the permanent staff are appropriately qualified. The remaining staff member is in the process of undertaking the relevant qualification. All members of staff have a first-aid qualification.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has appointed a new deputy manager from within the existing team and recruited a new staff member. This has brought greater stability and consistency to the workforce and young people. He encourages staff to get to know young people and their individual needs, rather than adopting a ‘one-size-fits-all’ model of care. This has had a positive impact on the progress that young people make. The registered manager has taken care to accept placements of young people whose needs staff are able to meet. He recognises the home’s limitations, and also the strengths of the home. This has meant that young people are appropriately placed and, as a result, no incidents have ensued.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision is provided on a regular basis for staff and focuses on safeguarding the young people, their progress and the personal development of staff. Staff say that supervision is good and that they feel well supported. Staff report that there has been an improvement in training opportunities, but many prefer face-to-face training to the online training that they sometimes have to undertake. Management oversight is rigorous. The registered manager oversees and scrutinises all paperwork. He is quick to address any practice shortfalls.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is good. The registered manager works well with placing authorities regarding young people’s progress and planning young people’s transitions. The registered manager has emailed and made formal representations to placing authorities when young people have not received the service that they are entitled to. However, he has failed to escalate his concerns immediately to the local authority where the children’s home is placed.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is child focused. For example, he ensures that he consistently seeks the feedback of young people and he welcomes consultation with them. He is keen to hear young people’s views, wishes and feelings, and has made changes because of their feedback. The registered manager has high aspirations for the young people in Inspection report children’s home: SC416318 7 his care, as well as the quality of care that staff provide to young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC416318 8

p.6

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 difference 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.

p.8

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: SC416318 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bay View Childcare Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Borough, 3–5 Dalton Square, Lancaster LA1 1PP

p.9

Inspector

Elaine Clare, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC416318 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10