Children's home run by Keys Nhcc Ltd in Rossendale

Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 1 SC020610 Registered provider: New Horizons Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 14 to 15 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: 17 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

 Staff support young people to develop their independence skills.  Young people are supported to maintain their links with their family and friends.  Staff work with other professionals to ensure that young people value Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 2 education. Young people have successfully progressed on to apprenticeships and college courses.  The registered manager and staff work as a team and have positive relationships with other professionals.  Staff prioritise young people’s safety and work with young people so that the risks of harm are reduced.

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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

 The manager does not always scrutinise pre-placement information adequately.  The recording of, and response to, verbal complaints is not always robust.  Recording should be clear and objective.  The registered manager does not receive supervision frequently enough.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/07/2016 Full Good 08/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/12/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 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 protection of children standard is that the registered person must ensure that staff 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)) With particular reference to pre-placement planning, assessing the risks of the impact of admitting new young people into the home. 26/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 26/01/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with Regulation 33 (4)(b). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to prepare for independence and they are enabled to build their self-confidence. Some young people have successfully moved into semi- independent accommodation or back into their family home. The young people’s families Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 4 are pleased with the progress that young people have made. Young people have gained a sense of achievement and success. Staff support young people when they move, helping them acquire the necessary furniture and equipment. This helps the young people to settle back into their community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff monitor young people’s progress after they move, maintaining links with young people and their families. Staff continue to provide support when required. One mother said, ‘My son has made a lot of progress and I am grateful for the continued emotional support and advice. I trust the staff and I can ring up anytime and get the advice I need. This has helped me support my son back home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to stay in touch with their families and friends. One young person confirmed this, stating that although he lives some distance from his family, the plan is for him to move back to his home town. To support this he sees his family and friends most weekends. He said that this is important to him, because he will not be isolated when he returns back home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a comfortable home which has a relaxed atmosphere. Young people are involved in choosing furniture and the decor of the home. Young people are encouraged to be independent, cooking their own meals and doing their own laundry.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage young people to get involved in a variety of activities. For example, one young person likes going to football sessions and he also plays the guitar.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager supports young people well, advocating on their behalf. She has taken the lead and successfully coordinated meetings ensuring that young people receive the support that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people attend education. Staff have worked with other professionals to ensure that young people value education and their attendance has improved. The results have been positive as young people have successfully progressed on to apprenticeships and college courses. One young person has a clear plan for the future as he wants to join the army and is keen to get the qualifications that he needs.

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

Staff are committed to keeping young people safe. Staff are vigilant, for example when a young person goes missing staff will follow the young person ensuring that they do not come to any harm. The police confirm that the staff work closely with them when young people go missing and encourage the young people to return. This strategy has reduced the number of times that young people go missing.

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

There have been recent difficulties when a young person’s behaviour was difficult to manage. To address this the registered manager increased the number of staff on shift to provide additional support. Appropriate professional advice is sought to ensure that each young person’s individual therapeutic/emotional needs are considered and effective behaviour management strategies are in place. These strategies address individual Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 5 behaviours and reduce the risk of harm to young people.

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

Staff maintain strong relationships with young people and their families when young people leave the home. Young people trust and respect staff and keep in contact, asking for and accepting the advice and support that staff offer. This has helped to keep young people safe.

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

There have been some incidents of bullying between the young people. The registered manager and the staff have addressed these concerns effectively, giving a clear message that this behaviour is not acceptable. Specific sessions were also set up for the young people with the police to undertake further work to emphasise that these incidents are considered to be serious and are not to be repeated. Following these sessions, the incidents of aggressive behaviour between the young people decreased.

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

Staff are proactive in liaising with key agencies, ensuring that young people are aware of potential wider risks in the locality, such as extremism and radicalisation.

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

There is a requirement made because two pre-placement reports which were provided were not adequately scrutinised by the registered manager and risks not adequately assessed. The registered manager and the staff once aware took the appropriate action to ensure that these specific risks were addressed and all the young people were protected and supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a registered manager in post who is qualified with a level 5 diploma in leadership and management. She has been the registered manager of the home for the past two and a half years. She has a stable team of 13 staff, all of whom are currently appropriately qualified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides strong leadership to the team; she is well respected. Staff and families state that she is there whenever they need her support and that her focus is on ensuring that each of the young people achieve their full potential and have positive experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a strong advocate for the young people. She appropriately involved and challenged key agencies when a young person was bullied and was at risk of harm. She took the initiative and coordinated support from each of the agencies involved in another young person’s life to ensure that professionals met the young person’s needs. She also consulted with the young person and their family ensuring that their views and wishes were considered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Other professionals talk positively about their relationship with the registered manager and staff team. One professional explained, ‘I have found them to be efficient in the management of the young people in their care.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager does not always receive frequent, good-quality supervision. Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 6 Supervision records also do not evidence that staff have the opportunity to reflect on their practice and the needs of the young people who they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager generally responds appropriately to complaints. However, complaints made verbally are not always recorded adequately. This prevents effective oversight of complaints and the actions taken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The recording of specific incidents such as physical interventions is not always clear and objective and does not always contain the full details required for each incident.

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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: SC020610 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Keys Attachment Centre, Hurstwood Court, New Hall Hey Road, Rossendale BB4 6HR

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Inspector

Balsinder Jaspal-Mander: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 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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