Children's Home run by Courtyard Care Limited in Bolton

Inspection report children’s home: SC389823 1 SC389823 Registered provider: Courtyard Care Limited 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 five children with mental health difficulties and learning disabilities. The home is privately owned and managed.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 14 to 15 December 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

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC389823 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people have formed close relationships with a caring and competent staff team.  Educational attendance and attainment have improved considerably.  Staff work with healthcare partners to offer well-planned and co-ordinated care.  Young people are encouraged to develop interests and explore their individual talents.  Staff ensure that young people are able to have a voice and influence their day- to-day care experiences.  Risk management is comprehensively planned and well managed.  A compassionate and supportive manager leads the service.  The staff team has accessed enhanced levels of training, which have provided them with the skills and knowledge to meet the complex needs of the young person in their care.  Placing authorities and young people have provided positive feedback about the standard of care at 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

 Leaders need to ensure that they offer constructive challenge when other agencies do not fulfil their responsibilities adequately.  The statement of purpose has recently been revised. The manager has not shared the revised version with the HMCI as required in regulation.  Measures of discipline are not routinely scrutinised and debriefed with staff and young people.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/12/2016 Full Good 04/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/06/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC389823 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

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met In meeting this quality standard, the registered person must ensure that— if the registered person considers a placing authority’s or a 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)) 31/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

16: Statement of purpose The registered person must— notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(b)) 31/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records 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)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 31/01/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC389823 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person has left the home since the last inspection. This was an unplanned but necessary move to ensure that her increasing healthcare needs could be met. Another young person has moved into the home. Both transitions were very well managed, which included staff organising and attending multi-disciplinary care planning meetings and arranging progressively longer visits to the home. Staff sensitively supported the young people to adapt to their new environments. The staff team has worked hard to welcome the new young person. A children’s guide to the home was provided and the staff team encouraged the young person to personalise their bedroom. One young person said, ‘The staff are understanding and help us, they listen to our views and opinions and don’t shrug our ideas off.’ Young people have a rabbit that has provided therapeutic benefits as well as teaching them to take responsibility for caring

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both young people at the home access meaningful education. One young person has progressed from one-to-one tuition provided in the home to a small classroom environment. This is excellent progress. Staff are strong advocates for young people in securing and providing additional support in educational settings. This demonstrates their commitment to helping young people reach their full potential. Young people have aspirations for their future and this is nurtured and encouraged by the staff team. For instance, one young person is interested in working with animals. The staff recently assisted the young person in arranging work experience at a local animal sanctuary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Healthcare plans are comprehensive and staff ensure that young people are able to access therapeutic support for their emotional health needs. On occasions, young people have opted not to take the medication prescribed to them. This has been managed sensitively and staff have worked collaboratively with placing authorities and healthcare professionals to establish the impact on the young person’s health and balance this with their right to make choices. When it was deemed detrimental to the welfare of those young people, staff have arranged for medication to be delivered in liquid form, which makes it more difficult to conceal. A healthy and well-balanced menu is on offer and all young people have an active lifestyle, which includes swimming and participating in informal organised running events. This contributes to young people maintaining good physical and emotional health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage young people in structured and positive activities both in the community and in the home. Young people have enjoyed shopping trips and going to the local cinema. One young person enjoys crafts and baking activities, which help to strengthen bonds between her and the staff team. Young people are supported to increase their skills for independence. At the present time, they are working on their ability to manage their own emotional health and safety needs. Staff regularly remind young people of their right to complain and access formal advocacy support. One young person made a complaint which was responded to promptly and resolved appropriately. Staff promote Inspection report children’s home: SC389823 5 and facilitate contact for young people, in line with the placing authority’s plan. This is balanced with the wishes and feelings of young people.

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

Young people say that they feel safe at this home and placing authorities and partners agree that young people are safe. Young people with a history of self-injurious behaviour access in-house therapeutic support. Risk management plans are highly comprehensive and have clear strategies for staff to follow. Staff take appropriate action to reduce any potential risks, which includes seeking support from external services. Where risks are identified, immediate action is taken to safeguard the young person.

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

Young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions and to reflect on their behaviour. Staff de-escalate any challenging behaviour successfully and as a result, physical intervention has not been necessary. When sanctions have been given to address behaviour, they are restorative in nature. Leaders have not routinely scrutinised the records made of sanctions and spoken with both staff and young people afterwards as required in regulation. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that any patterns or trends are noted and that young people are treated fairly. A requirement is made to address this shortfall.

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

Young people are supported to live together and respect each other. They have developed a sense of belonging in the home. High levels of supervision and support mean that young people rarely go missing from this home. Staff have had appropriate safeguarding training and they all know how to raise a concern. When a young person made a disclosure to staff, it was handled in accordance with the safeguarding procedures and a detailed notification was provided to all external agencies. The physical environment in the home is well maintained and largely free from hazards. Safe recruitment procedures are in place to ensure that staff are suitably vetted prior to commencing employment at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The previous registered manager of the home left her role in September 2017. She has continued to work at the home as a team member but also in a supportive capacity to the newly appointed manager, who joined the organisation in October 2017. He is suitably experienced, having worked in a supervisory capacity caring for children, in both residential care settings and in fostering services. He is a qualified social worker and has an additional level 4 diploma in health and social care. He has recently made an application for registration with Ofsted. Staff report that the change in leadership of the home has been managed positively; they feel well supported, receive regular supervision and participate in team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All of the staff members are either qualified or enrolled and progressing on suitable diploma programmes to enhance their knowledge of providing a good standard of care for young people. Staff benefit from a comprehensive training programme that is tailored to meet the needs of the young people at the home. The manager is committed to Inspection report children’s home: SC389823 6 continuous improvement in the home. He has a good insight into the strengths and development areas of the service and is currently auditing all of the records in order to identify gaps and develop new ways of working. Care planning is highly effective and leaders work exceptionally well in partnership with other agencies to ensure that young people benefit from the clinical support that they need and make good progress across all aspects of their development. On occasions, there have been difficulties in obtaining copies of assessments and plans relating to young people. The manager agrees that an

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

escalation procedure is necessary to ensure that all professionals provide timely responses to requests and a requirement is made to address this shortfall in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The service is meeting the aims and objectives as detailed within the recently revised statement of purpose. However, the revised version was not sent to HMCI as required in regulation. A requirement is made to address this matter. Placing authorities and partners have provided very positive feedback about this service. One healthcare professional said, ‘I have found this provider to be very positive, they communicate extremely well and the care plans/risk assessment appear to be robust.’ A social worker said, ‘Communication is effective with me always being kept informed of any incidents and general progress.’ This demonstrates a clear commitment to working collaboratively with other services to secure the best possible outcomes for young people.

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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: SC389823 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Courtyard Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Optima House, 100 Manchester Road, Denton, Manchester M34 3PR

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Inspector

Nicola Thomas: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC389823 8 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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