Children's home run by Crossway Services Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report children’s home: SC460761 1 SC460761 Registered provider: Pebbles care Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home can accommodate one young person who has behavioural and/or emotional difficulties.

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Judgement at last inspection: inadequate

Date of last inspection: 6 September 2017

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged inadequate at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, the home was ‘not judged’.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has not provided care or accommodation for any young people since 9 September 2017. Fifteen requirements and five recommendations were made at the last full inspection about the care of young people. Several of these are unable to be assessed while there are no young people in placement. Therefore, the home was not judged on this occasion and a number of requirements and recommendations have been repeated that will be reviewed at the next inspection.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has undertaken a staff meeting with all of the staff team members. She has discussed the importance of a range of health and safety matters, including ensuring that young people do not use plug-in electrical items in the bathroom. This means that young people will not be put at unnecessary risk and that the staff team members understand their roles and responsibilities in this area. Inspection report children’s home: SC460761 2 The staff team has completed bereavement training. The manager said that this training was excellent and that it covered wider issues regarding loss and attachment, and not just bereavement. She said that members of staff have been able to reflect on this training in supervision and that discussions have been insightful. This means that members of staff will be able to recognise and respond sensitively to young people’s emotional needs.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has revised and forwarded the home’s statement of purpose to Ofsted. The ethos and practice about the arrangements for the admission of new young people to the home is now clearer. This ensures that stakeholders, commissioners, Ofsted and social workers have an improved understanding of the service provided.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has responded to a formal complaint made by a member of the public. The record of the complaint details all of the action that the manager took and that the complainant was satisfied with the outcome. This manager’s response helps to ensure that good relationships are maintained and that members of staff can take prompt action when concerns are raised.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The company has identified a new independent visitor to undertake Regulation 44 visits. The manager has spoken with the new visitor so that there is clarity about the role and purpose of the independent visitor in driving improvement through constructive challenge.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is prepared to take in a new young person. It has been redecorated and furnished to a good standard. There is a full staff team available whose members are at present working in other homes across the company. However, the core staff team members are having monthly supervisions and staff meetings. This means that they have the opportunity to discuss their practice and their development and will be in a position to revert to working at this home quickly.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager now has a workforce plan in place. She monitors the home and produces a report on her findings. However, both documents could be further enhanced by having clearer information about practice issues, such as supervision timescales, the quality of the information recorded and evaluating the effectiveness of the work undertaken by staff with young people. This will assist the home to improve and develop.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the last inspection, the manager of the home was required to ensure that young people are only admitted to the home if their needs can be met and that robust challenges are made should there be a lack of information at the point of referral. The manager also needed to make sure that: robust risk assessments are completed to safeguard young people; health plans include information on each young person’s emotional health; young people’s personal education plans (PEP) are secured, including recent school reports and educational work for the young person to complete while away from school; young people’s progress is recorded in their documents; research is used to inform practice within staff meetings; the manager is able to demonstrate that she is in day-to-day charge of the home; she notifies HMCI and each other relevant person Inspection report children’s home: SC460761 3 without delay if there is any incident relating to a child which the registered person

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Furthermore, the manager was required to ensure: that young people’s files are in good order; that all visitors are informed about the emergency evacuation procedure; that she considers the home’s location assessment when completing impact risk assessments on new admissions to the home; that the manager, social worker and staff sign the relevant records.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

As there is no young person living at the home currently, it was not possible to evaluate the effect of the action taken to address these requirements. Therefore, they have been re-issued at this inspection.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2017 Full Inadequate 28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/12/2016 Full Good 16/02/2016 Full Good

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure —

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Requirement Due date

that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking 29/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC460761 4 into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child and help each child to understand how to keep safe:

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that risk assessments are robust and include possible triggers for behaviour. Further to this, ensure that meetings are convened as soon as possible to discuss any serious concerns that are identified and the actions for each party to take to safeguard the young person. 10: The health and well-being standard

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that —

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure —

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that the young person’s health plan is kept up to date and ensuring that it includes all of the known information within it, including young people’s emotional health. 29/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraphs (1) and (2) requires the registered person to ensure —

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Requirement Due date

to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;: 29/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC460761 5 maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(i)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to securing young people’s personal education plans. Further to this, to liaise with the identified schools to secure recent school reports and educational work for the young person to complete while away from school and have an educational timetable within the home. 5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff —

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to evidencing that robust challenges are made around the lack of information at the point of referral and identifying a new placement. 29/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) and (2) requires the registered person to —

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met. (Regulation 13 (1)(2)(g))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to using research to inform practice within staff meetings. 29/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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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. 29/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC460761 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to —

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that young people’s progress is recorded in their documents. 13: The leadership and management standard

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to —

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to the manager being able to demonstrate that they are in day-to-day charge of the home. 29/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if —

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 29/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports

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Requirement Due date

The independent persons must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether —

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(b)) 29/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating —

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children; 29/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC460761 7 the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b)(c)) 14: The care planning standard

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children —

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure —

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(2)(a)) 29/12/2017

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  All children’s case records must be kept up to date. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) This is specifically in relation to ensuring that young people’s files are in a good order.  The registered person should build a strong safeguarding culture in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.8) This is specifically in relation to ensuring that all visitors are informed about the emergency evacuation procedure.  The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. (‘Guide to the children’s

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Recommendations

homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) In particular, the crime statistics for the area should be evaluated to address any known risks that may affect young people. Further to this, the registered person must ensure that they consider the location review when completing impact risk assessments on new admissions to the home.  Ensure that case records are kept up-to-date and that they are signed by the author. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality Inspection report children’s home: SC460761 8 standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) This is specifically in relation to ensuring that the manager, social worker and staff have signed all records.

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Pam Nuckley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC460761 9 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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