Children's Home run by Crystal Care Solutions Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC480594 1 SC480594 Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Limited Company Number 05952454

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home specialises in work with young people who display sexually harmful behaviour. A private company operates this home.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 28 to 29 November 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

Date of last inspection: 22 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people receive good quality care from a staff team who understands and responds well to their individual needs.  Young people make good progress in all areas of their development. Inspection report children‟s home: SC480594 2  Staff promote good school attendance.  Staff promote young people‟s well-being.  Young people experience a range of activities that reflect their hobbies and interests.  Young people‟s risk-taking behaviour decreases as a result of living at this home.  The registered manager is aspirational and has high expectations of young people.

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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

 Staff do not always ensure that young people‟s views are captured in their placement plans.  The registered manager has not ensured that incidents that occur in the home are reported to Ofsted in a timely manner.  The registered manager has not ensured that staff receive supervision in line with the organisation‟s policy.  Staff do not consistently complete physical intervention records with all required detail.  Inaccuracies in the independent visitor reports go unchallenged.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/10/2016 Full Good 29/03/2016 Full Requires improvement 14/12/2015 Full Inadequate Inspection report children‟s home: SC480594 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

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 the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure.

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Requirement Due date

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)(b)(c)) 31/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(e)) 31/12/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that children are encouraged by staff to see the home‟s records as „living documents‟, supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 58, paragraph 11.19) Inspection report children‟s home: SC480594 4  Ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make rigorous and impartial assessment of the home‟s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home‟s care. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions is kept, and ensure that both the person giving the supervision and the staff member have a copy of the record. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make progress in all areas of their development. They receive personalised care from a staff team who understands their individual needs. Staff speak positively about young people and recognise their achievements. Young people said that living at the home is „good‟. One social worker said, „This is the longest he has been in a placement and the most progress that he has made.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in promoting young people‟s education. Staff encourage a positive attitude to school attendance as part of young people‟s daily routine. Consequently, young people‟s attendance and achievements increase. For example, social workers told the inspector that education was a key area of progress for their young people. One young person was previously out of school. The same young person has received an award for 100% attendance and the pupil of the week.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are registered with the relevant health professionals and attend all health appointments. When necessary, young people are able to access to specialist therapy services. Staff promote healthy living choices and consequently young people health improves. For example, one young person regularly attends the gym, and another young person has been helped to reduce their smoking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy a range of activities. For example, young people go boxing, go- karting, to the cinema and fishing. Staff help young people to engage in voluntary work that support their long-term aspirations. For example, one young person works in a local garage, and another young person helps a local fishery. As a result of these opportunities, young people gain life skills and increase their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help young people to develop skills in preparation for adulthood. Young people are encouraged to help with household tasks and to prepare meals. Young people are involved in day-to-day decisions, where they can contribute their ideas. For example, young people have chosen colours for their bedrooms and in communal areas. Young people feel involved and know that adults value their views and opinions. However, the same level of attention is not given to ensuring that young people‟s views are captured in their care plans. Inspection report children‟s home: SC480594 5 Staff support young people to maintain links with their family. A social worker said, „If the home weren‟t so responsive to contact when it arises, he would be going missing more.‟

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

Young people‟s risk-taking behaviour decreases as a result of living at this home. Staff help young people to reflect on their behaviour. For example, staff have worked closely with the police to help a young person to understand and reduce their involvement with gangs. A police officer told the inspector that staff are tolerant in their approach to young people and actively avoid criminalising them.

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

Young people‟s episodes of going missing from care reduce. Staff are proactive in identifying why young people go missing and ways to prevent this. For one young person this is a flexible approach to family visits.

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

Staff implement and regularly review risk assessments, including the advice of the young person‟s therapist. This supports a detailed understanding of the behaviour management techniques required to safeguard young people. A social worker said the registered manager was „attuned to how to assess the risks and manage his behaviour‟. Because of this wrap-around care, young people are thriving physically, emotionally and socially.

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

All staff receive safeguarding training that is regularly updated. This includes training in relation to improving staff members‟ understanding of the signs of child sexual exploitation, radicalisation and extremism.

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

Staff undertake regular health and safety checks. Any maintenance required is carried out quickly. Following a significant incident, the registered manager carefully considered how the environment could be adapted to meet the needs of one young person.

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

All staff receive physical intervention training and are skilled in employing de-escalation techniques. When physical intervention is necessary, staff and young people are debriefed. This ensures that staff and young people receive opportunities to reflect on incidents. However, the recording of incidents is not always consistent. For example, details of young people‟s names are omitted from some records. This prevents effective oversight of physical interventions.

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

The registered manager has not ensured that any incidents that occur in the home are reported to Ofsted in a timely manner. This prevents the regulator from having a clear understanding of how managers and staff respond to incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been employed since 2015. He holds a level 5 qualification in health and social care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is aspirational in his leadership of the home. He has a clear Inspection report children‟s home: SC480594 6 understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the service. He is focused on ensuring that young people have all the opportunities to reach their potential. One social worker said that he „goes over and above‟ for young people. This supports a positive culture where staff have high expectations of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has developed excellent working relationships with a range of professionals. This includes social workers, police and therapists. One social worker said, „We have a fantastic relationship with the staff.‟ This supports a shared approach to care planning and meeting young people‟s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular team meetings and group sessions with the therapy team support staff development. The therapy team offers specialist training in response to individual young people‟s needs. A therapist said that staff „have an openness and a willingness to learn‟.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that the home meets the aims and objectives set out in the statement of purpose. This is available to stakeholders, and provides them with clear information of the service provided by the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young people‟s guide is personalised to each young person before they arrive. It offers them information about the home, the boundaries and expectations and the complaints process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision from managers. Staff told the inspector that this really supports practice and enables them to feel confident in managing challenging situations. Staff said that managers are available to them and that this makes them feel more confident. However, the registered manager has not ensured that supervision is well recorded. Because of this, records are not always clear or followed up.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An independent person visits the home monthly and completes a report. The registered manager has not challenged inaccuracies in these reports.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC480594 7 children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟. Inspection report children‟s home: SC480594 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Limited Company Number 05952454

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bank House, Market Square, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 1ET

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Inspector

Tracey Coglan Greig, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC480594 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 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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