Children's Home run by Halton Borough Council in Halton

Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 1 SC039559 Registered provider: Halton Borough Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide short breaks for up to four children who may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities and sensory impairment. It is managed by a local authority and provides a service to children from other local authorities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 28 to 29 November 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 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

Date of last inspection: 21 December 2016

p.1

Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

Good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Children are safe and staff fully understand their vulnerabilities and make sure that children are safeguarded. This is supported through the strong, trusting relationships the children have with the staff.  Behaviour management is effective and helps children to deal with their Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 2 frustrations constructively. Rewards are regularly given to children for positive behaviour and progress. Sanctions are rarely used at the home.  Planning for transitions for young people who are new to the service are thorough. Transitions are individualised for each child and they will only begin to have overnight stays when they are ready, regardless of how long this takes. This fully supports them and their families and aids a smooth transition.  Collaborative working is a key strength and ensures that children are cared for well. The home works well with parents, carers and other professionals to

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

ensure that each child’s needs are met well.  The registered manager, deputy manager and staff team are suitably experienced and qualified. They are motivated, enthusiastic and committed to providing the children with a good quality of care. They go above and beyond to ensure that the children and their families benefit greatly from their short-break stays.  Children make good progress and thoroughly enjoy their time at the home. They engage in a wide range of social and recreational activities with the staff and peers.  Supporting children’s independence is a strength at the home. All children have targets set in conjunction with their parents or carers. Their progress is captured and recorded in their individual target books, which include photographs and other details of their progress.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 The recording systems at the home need to be strengthened. Some of the records and plans do not provide detailed and up-to-date information to show each child’s journey, progress and experiences of the time they spend at the home.  Supervision for some staff is not completed regularly. This does not demonstrate that staff regularly review and reflect on young people’s progress and needs, their own performance and professional development, the running of the home and how best to develop and improve the standard of care and support.  Although the home has a range of systems in place for monitoring and reviewing all aspects of the home’s functioning, not all of these are robust and effective. File audits are completed with actions identified for improvement. However, these actions are not always addressed in a timely manner.  The views, wishes and feelings of children are ascertained at children’s meetings and during key-work sessions. However, these do not regularly take

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

place. This does not show that the views, wishes and feelings of the children are a consistent and central part of the home’s functioning.  Some mandatory training for new staff has not yet been completed. One member of staff has not completed up-to-date training in restraint. Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 3

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/06/2016 Full Good 16/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/01/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 4

p.3

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.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees – undertake appropriate continuing professional development and receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 22/01/2018

p.4

Recommendations

 All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain at the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. 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 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, paragraphs 14.3 and 14.4)  The registered person should have a workforce plan, which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to

p.4

Recommendations

achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications). The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph

p.4

Recommendations

4.11)  The registered person should make best use of information from internal Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 5 monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children referred to the service have a range of complex needs. The referral systems and planning for children’s care are thorough. Collaborative working effectively ensures that the short-break arrangement is an integrated part of the care planning for each child. Furthermore, transitions are individualised to each child at their own pace. A parent said, ‘My son is currently having introductory tea visits to the home as part of his transition. The transition is directly suited to him and at his pace.’ Children only begin to have overnight stays when they are ready. Consequently, children settle well into the home and transitions are smooth.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from individualised care in line with their placement plans and child in need plans. The staff have a good understanding of their needs and meet these well. Staff get to know children, their needs and their likes and dislikes very well. They are attentive to the children in their care and their practice is child-focused. Children’s complex needs are not seen as a barrier to their progress and staff ensure that children make the best out of their short break. Consequently, children are happy, settled and enjoy their short breaks at the home.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend considerable amounts of time talking and interacting with children. They use a wide range of communication systems effectively, which ensures that each young person has a voice. However, although children’s meetings and key-work sessions do take place, there are some lengthy gaps in between them taking place. Consequently, this does not show that the views, wishes and feelings of children are a consistent and central part of the home’s functioning.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a wide range of social and recreational activities in and outside of the home. These are planned in advance to ensure that they are fully risk assessed and safe for children, with due consideration being given to their individual and often complex needs. Furthermore, chosen activities are in line with children’s individual interests and preferences; these include going to the cinema, activity centres and the park, and even away on holiday in a caravan. Consequently, this supports children’s emotional and social well-being and builds their confidence and socialisation while engaging in their preferred activities.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Developing children’s independence and progress is a strength of the home. Children are set targets in conjunction with their parents or carers. These include sitting to eat meals with others at the dining table and getting themselves dressed and undressed. The home captures each young person’s progress in their target book, which includes photographs and other references showing their achievements and progress. These are Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 6 shared with children, their families and social workers. However, not all children have target books in place yet. Meeting these targets is often a massive achievement for children. Consequently, children are learning useful skills to build their independence and confidence.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The health and development needs of children are known and understood by staff. Detailed information about children’s individual health and development conditions is placed in each child’s file, which staff familiarise themselves with so they have a clear and detailed knowledge of the conditions. This enables staff to ensure that children receive the most appropriate care and support to meet their health and development needs. However, children’s health and medical questionnaires lack detailed information about children’s individual health needs. This is a recording issue rather than a lack of knowledge and understanding of children’s health needs.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although children do not live at the home on a permanent basis and only attend for short breaks, the home has helpful links with children’s schools. The home has a good understanding of children’s individual progress in education. Furthermore, relevant information is shared between the home, schools and parents or carers to make sure that there is a consistent approach to caring for the children. Home and school link books are used to share information so that all those who care for the children hold up- to-date information, which assists in providing a good quality of care. Monthly reports are usually completed and shared with parents, carers and social workers to provide them with details of the children’s experiences and progress over the previous month. These are an excellent way of ensuring that communication between the home and significant people is good. However, these reports are not consistently completed and

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

shared in a timely manner for all children.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment provides children with a homely and welcoming place to stay. The decoration and furnishings are to a high standard. Children are encouraged to bring personal items with them when they stay to make them feel more at home. Furthermore, there are many photographs of the children and staff around the home. The staff ensure that children are nurtured and have their undivided attention when they stay at the home. Consequently, this supports children to settle, feel safe and enjoy their time at the home.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents speak positively about their children’s experiences at the home. The support and intervention they receive have a positive impact on the child and parent. A parent said, ‘I have some respite when my child attends the home for short breaks and he enjoys his time there.’ The only complaint raised by parents is that the home is unable to accept any more children as it is at full capacity. This also makes it difficult for the home to offer flexibility about when children can stay at the home. Overall, the home makes a positive difference to the lives of children and their parents and carers and is a very much-valued service.

p.6

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

Children are safe and protected because staff give the highest priority to their safety and Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 7 well-being. All staff are trained in safeguarding children with complex needs. Children trust and feel confident with the staff team and enjoy spending time with them. Parents and carers are happy for their children to spend time away from them for short breaks at the home because they know that they will be well cared for and kept safe from harm.

p.6

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

Staff are skilled in supporting children in reducing their anxieties and stress that may lead to challenging behaviours. The staff use distraction techniques effectively, such as taking children to the sensory room or cinema room, to allow them to relax. Children respond well to the plentiful rewards and praise they receive at the home. Sanctions are rarely used and if they are, it is only as a very last resort to help to safeguard children and change negative behaviour. Since the last full inspection, no sanctions have been used at the home. A member of staff from the positive behaviour support service said, ‘The home’s staff are generally able to support children with particularly complex behavioural needs and demonstrate a real commitment to doing so. They also show a commitment to least restrictive practice.’ This confirms the effective and collaborative systems in place to manage children’s complex behaviour.

p.7

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

Since the last inspection, there has been one safeguarding notification made to Ofsted in line with regulations for children’s homes. This incident was managed effectively with robust safeguarding processes being implemented. A multi-agency approach was taken to ensure that a full investigation was undertaken. This included the involvement of the designated officer, the child’s social worker and health professionals, and included consultation with the child’s parent. Following the incident, the registered manager of the home identified some learning points and measures to be employed to prevent further risks to the child and therefore safeguarding practice was strengthened as an outcome of this incident. The specific information about this incident was not available to view on the child’s file, as it was stored away securely at the home due to its confidential nature. However, recording systems need strengthening to capture appropriate

p.7

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

information on children’s files in relation to safeguarding incidents.

p.7

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

There has been one incident of physical intervention since the last inspection. This is the first physical intervention at the home for over four years. The intervention was used as a last resort to safeguard the young person and others when he had become distressed when out in the community while on holiday. Records relating to the incident were completed in line with the requirements under the regulations for children’s homes. However, there was no evidence of a debrief having been undertaken with the members of staff involved in the incident. This would have been beneficial to them and the leaders and managers of the home to reflect on the incident and identify any learning points.

p.7

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

Risk assessments and behaviour management plans are in place for children. However, these lack detail and so do not provide a sufficiently detailed and evaluative outline of the risks and behaviours for children. However, the staff have a clear understanding of the risks and behaviours of children and are able to manage these effectively. Again, this is a shortfall in the recording systems at the home and is not detrimental to children at present.

p.7

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

Children who have short breaks at the home are often taking prescribed medication. Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 8 Since the last inspection, the systems in place for the administration of medication have been reviewed due to the shortfalls identified. Consequently, robust systems are now in place for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the home. This helps ensure that the children are safeguarded effectively from the risk of maladministration of medication.

p.7

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

The home’s location review is detailed and evaluative. It clearly sets out all of the known risks in the community and how these are managed by the home. The registered manager routinely consults with safeguarding professionals to gather information that will assist her in identifying all of the known risks in the area. In addition, the home receives monthly newsletters from the local police, which provide an update on the area, such as crime updates, incidents, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage, suspicious activity, vehicle crime, theft and burglaries. Furthermore, the newsletters include advice on how to prevent crime. Consequently, the home is able to safeguard children from risks in the community.

p.8

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

Children do not go missing from the home. However, since the last inspection, the home has updated its missing child policy and has started to introduce missing from home risk assessments for some children. Furthermore, due to the high level of supervision of children at the home it is unlikely that this will be an issue in the future. This proactive approach helps to prevent any such incidents and helps ensure that children are safeguarded from going missing from the home.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably qualified and experienced registered manager who has worked at the home for many years leads the home. A deputy manager who is also suitably experienced and qualified supports her. Both are extremely motivated and committed to ensuring that the children who have short breaks at the home enjoy their stays and receive a good quality of care.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have an inclusive and open management style, which staff value. They inspire confidence in staff, professionals, parents and carers, and lead the staff team by example by modelling best practice. Comments about the managers from staff include that they are ‘supportive’, ‘approachable’ and ‘fair’. Staff also say that the managers have an open door policy so are always available to support staff and to meet with professionals, parents and carers. One member of staff said, ‘I love working at the home, we are like one big family here.’ This demonstrates that the managers and staff work well together to create a family environment for children who have short breaks at the home.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is diverse, with a range of different ages, gender, skills, experience, interests and strengths. This results in the staff team being able to offer different strengths and ways of working to ensure that the children receive the most appropriate support to meet their needs. For example, where possible personal care will be completed by staff of the same gender as the child and staff undertake activities with children that are a particular strength or interest of theirs. Staff are child-centred and Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 9 dedicated to ensuring that children get the most out of their short breaks. A social worker said, ‘I am currently a social worker for six children who access short breaks in [name of home]. The youngest out of those children is six and the eldest is 17. They all have various needs and require a person-centred approach and the home has always been very good in providing this kind of service.’

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular team meetings take place with the whole of the staff team. This allows the staff to discuss children’s progress and experiences and reflect on practice. Team meetings are lengthy to allow detailed discussions and reflection to take place. Professionals from other agencies or other teams in the local authority often attend team meetings to share information. Furthermore, new initiatives and guidance are shared at team meetings along with information obtained through the home’s monitoring systems. Consequently, this enables staff to provide an improved service and quality of care to children, which leads to improved outcomes.

p.9

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision for staff is generally completed regularly and allows staff to discuss individual children and reflect on their practice. It also allows them to discuss and plan for their own continuous professional development. However, for the casual staff working at the home on a regular basis, the frequency and quality of supervision is poor. All staff working at the home should receive regular practice-related supervision in line with the regulations for children’s homes that allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children they care for. As a result, any shortfalls in practice or training and development needs can be identified and addressed in a timely manner.

p.9

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a range of monitoring and review systems in place to enable the staff to identify strengths and weaknesses and areas for improvement. Generally, these systems are robust and effective. However, the case file audits need to be strengthened. Some of the identified actions from these audits are not addressed in a timely manner. Consequently, shortfalls and areas for improvement are often left unaddressed for some time. This ultimately affects the development of the home.

p.9

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The recording and filing systems at the home are an area for improvement. Some records and plans lack sufficient detail and evaluation to demonstrate the children’s journey, progress and experiences. Some records are out of date and do not include consultation with children and their parents or carers. However, the managers and staff do have a good understanding and knowledge of each individual child’s journey, progress and experiences.

p.9

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home does not have a workforce development plan in place that outlines the current staff team and their experience, training and development needs, the home’s arrangements for supervision or how poor performance is managed. Consequently, the home does not have a workforce development plan in line with the quality standards for children’s homes.

p.9

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has taken appropriate action to address the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. This demonstrates the commitment to develop the service and ensure that practice and the quality of care at the home is to a Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 10 high standard.

p.9

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.

p.10

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: SC039559 11

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Halton Lea, Rutland House, Runcorn, Cheshire WA7 2WD

p.11

Inspector

Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 12 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.

p.11

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.12

Inspector

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

p.12

Inspector

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

p.12