Children's home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report children‟s home: SC062263 1 SC062263 Registered provider: Time-Out Children‟s Homes Limited

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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 is one of a number of children‟s homes operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The organisation has a small therapy department as well as primary and secondary education provisions, which young people can access if appropriate.

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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: 27 September 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children‟s home: SC062263 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff provide a high standard of care and support that has enabled the young person to develop a genuine sense of belonging. This has resulted in her settling in quickly and regarding this as her home.  The small, experienced and dedicated staff team gives the young person‟s needs the highest priority, providing them with parent-like support in a home that encompasses the values of family living.  Relationships are a major strength of the home. The young person is developing meaningful attachments with the manager and staff, who are committed to providing her with positive experiences.  The young person is well supported to pursue her interests and hobbies and has been given the opportunity to try new and interesting things.  Staff were quick to identify and support an effective transition into school.  Staff are supporting the young person to develop positive friendships in the community.  The new manager has been effective in utilising the skills and personalities of

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Key findings from this inspection

the staff team when developing the foundations of a child-focused and caring ethos that prioritises the young person‟s needs.

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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 has not ensured that a copy of the young person‟s care order has been provided by the placing authority.  Staff do not consistently evidence the conversations that they are having with the young person after issuing sanctions.  Key-work records do not demonstrate that staff have followed up on actions set during focused key-work sessions.  Staff are not disposing of medication in a timely manner after it is no longer required.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/09/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 30/01/2017 Interim Not judged 07/09/2016 Full Good 10/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC062263 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 maintain records (“case records”) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36(1)(a)) 19/02/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 53, paragraph 10.11). This is with specific reference to ensuring that staff complete training in working with young people who display sexualised behaviours.  Regulation 23 requires the registered person to ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 35, paragraph 7.15). This is with specific reference to immediately disposing of medication when it is no longer required.  Staff should understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.4). This is with specific reference to ensuring that key-work

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Recommendations

records include evidence of how set targets have been achieved and what future work is required and that a record is maintained of any discussion with a child after sanctions are imposed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

After a significant period of closure, this home reopened on 15 September 2017 to accommodate the admission of the young person currently living there. Staff made a real effort to ensure that the young person was made to feel special from the start of her placement and to view moving to this home as a positive step in her life. This focus on the young person‟s needs has continued and has helped her settle quickly, providing Inspection report children‟s home: SC062263 4 a good foundation that has enabled her to make extremely good progress relative to her short time in placement. When asked to summarise her experiences so far, the young person said, „It‟s a good placement. The staff help me a lot. They always make sure I can succeed in everything I want. The staff are great and the manager is brilliant. I like living here.‟ A significant feature of this home is the warm, affectionate relationships that exist

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

between the young person and the manager and staff. Staff use these relationships to provide effective parent-like support that has given the young person a genuine sense of belonging. It is clear that the young person regards this as her home and that her views, wishes and feelings are integral to all aspects of its running. Staff are genuinely interested in the young person‟s life and engage her in key conversations that enable her to reflect and learn from her past and current experiences. The young person benefits from a well-planned approach to care planning. The manager and staff have a comprehensive understanding of her needs and work hard to deliver an individually tailored programme of support for her. They make every effort to capture the young person‟s views about her care and life in general, and ensure that these are routinely considered as part of the care planning process. A social worker wrote, „The

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

home is a very positive placement for [name] and meets her needs very well. The staff are forming good relationships with [name] and advocate for her needs very well.‟ The importance of education is fully endorsed by staff. A mainstream school was quickly identified and a planned introduction supported, soon after the young person was admitted to the home. Levels of engagement have been high, with the young person maintaining 100% attendance and making good academic progress since starting. A member of the school staff wrote, „[Name] always speaks highly of staff and seems to love it there. She is always well presented and punctual every day.‟ The same person went on to state, „It is clearly evident that the home works hard to ensure that [name] is well supported and happy. It seems they have made a real difference in her life already.‟ Staff encourage and support the young person to maintain good health. They talk to her

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

about the importance of maintaining a safe and healthy lifestyle, which includes good diet and exercise, and opportunities to achieve this are routinely offered. Staff ensure that the young person can attend appointments and her routine checks are up to date. Emergency appointments are facilitated, ensuring that any emerging health needs or accidents are managed effectively. Medication is securely stored and good procedures are in place for the purpose of administration. However, there has been a delay in disposing of medication when it is no longer required. This has not impacted directly on the young person‟s well-being, but it does present a potential risk of staff giving this medication for similar ailments in the future without medical advice. Specialist support is provided by the organisation‟s qualified therapists. The young person clearly benefits from this one-to-one time and speaks positively about these

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

sessions. Representatives from the therapy department attend team meetings and share information that staff can use to inform their approach to care planning. This means that the young person‟s holistic health needs are routinely met. Inspection report children‟s home: SC062263 5 The young person has a particularly strong relationship with her key worker, whom she says she can talk to about anything. Key-work sessions are held each month and focus on age-appropriate topics such as staying safe, relationships, friendships, behaviour and respect. The young person is clearly benefiting from these informative sessions, which are in the process of being adapted to incorporate her long-term plan to return to foster care. This focused approach is a relatively new concept and is yet to be fully integrated into practice. The manager recognises that the associated records need to be adapted in order to capture how the agreed aims and goals from each session have been achieved

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

and what future work is required. This will bring a much more purposeful and coordinated approach to key-work interventions that are designed to link into the young person‟s overarching care plan. Contact is carefully assessed and well supported. Staff have worked in partnership with the placing authority to ensure that contact has been maintained with former carers and friends. Staff are aware of how contact can affect the young person and do everything that they can to make it as purposeful and enjoyable as it can be for everyone concerned. Staff enjoy spending time with the young person and encourage and support her to enjoy a wide range of fun and exciting activities of her choice. They understand the potential isolation brought about by living in a solo home and make every effort to provide opportunities for her to develop age-appropriate friendships with her peers. For example, staff build up the young person‟s independence time to allow her to spend time

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

with friends after school and invite her friends for tea. Staff recognise that reducing staff supervision and enabling the young person to have experiences similar to her peers is an important part of helping her prepare for the future. Although early days, there are good initial plans in place to do this. The young person has contributed significantly to making the house feel comfortable and homely. It is decorated and furnished to a high standard and is personalised throughout with photographs and personal items belonging to the young person. There is a good range of pertinent information and displays that are designed to help the young person share her thoughts, feelings and aspirations and map her progress.

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

The young person confirms that she feels safe and has no worries or concerns. She is well protected by a range of safeguarding measures, such as systems for dealing with allegations against staff, of which there have been none. Staff are trained in basic safeguarding and take their responsibilities seriously. Safeguarding practice is further strengthened by good links with a range of external agencies and professionals who can be contacted if required. The manager attends the local authority provider forums, which means that she has an understanding of current safeguarding trends and risks in the local community. The young person is making good choices about keeping herself safe and there have not been any safeguarding concerns since she arrived at the home. There have been no incidents of missing, and behaviours of concern seen previously, such as overtly sexualised behaviour, have not been displayed during her time in placement. Staff have

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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC062263 6 a good understanding of the young person‟s risks and vulnerabilities and work closely with her to effectively manage these. They take an educational approach that enables the young person to explore her own needs as well as the risks posed by others. This coincides with promoting a culture that enables her to take age-appropriate risks in a well-thought-out and safe way. Staff act as positive role models and encourage and promote positive behaviour. They have high expectations of the young person, who responds positively to the rules and boundaries that are in place. Staff take every opportunity to reinforce positive behaviour through reward, affirmation and praise, which the young person responds positively to. Negative behaviour is sensitively and proportionately challenged using an approach that encourages the young person to take time to reflect. This always results in the young

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

person self-regulating her behaviour and is a preferred approach to giving sanctions. On the four occasions when sanctions have been used, the manager has evaluated these and encouraged staff to consider alternative responses that are more in line with the restorative approach she is promoting. However, sanction records require improvement. Although staff are recording when the young person has been spoken to about the measure, there is no supporting evidence of these discussions in the majority of cases. Staff are trained in behaviour management, which includes the use of physical restraint. There is a genuine emphasis on avoiding restraint and staff make good use of positive relationships, their knowledge of the young person, and de-escalation techniques in doing this. Consequently, there have been no incidents of this type since the young person was admitted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since October 2017, arriving shortly after the young person was admitted. She is suitably experienced and is to be enrolled on the level 5 diploma on successful completion of her probationary period. She also manages another home within the company and effectively divides her time between the two. The manager leads by example and has been effective in establishing a child-focused approach to caring for this young person. She is fully involved in all aspects of care planning and has a comprehensive understanding of the young person‟s care needs. She maintains good links with the placing authority, education and health professionals, which promotes a coordinated approach to meeting this young person‟s current needs and planning for the future. The young person benefits from one-to-one support from competent and caring staff, some of whom work across the manager‟s two homes. The manager works closely with

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

staff to promote consistently high standards of care and safety for the young person. Each member of staff has a personal development plan which is monitored and developed through purposeful induction, supervision and support. Staff spoken to during the inspection confirmed that the manager is approachable and supportive. The majority of staff hold a relevant qualification, and suitable arrangements are in place to ensure that those who don‟t can acquire this within regulatory timescales. Monitoring activity is good. The manager maintains good oversight of the day-to-day running of the home, thus ensuring that high standards of care are delivered in Inspection report children‟s home: SC062263 7 accordance with the home‟s statement of purpose. Internal quality assurance processes are further strengthened by the detailed scrutiny of an independent person who quality assures practice each month. Discussions with the manager confirmed that she has a

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

good understanding of what the home does well and has a clear vision for the future. The recommendation from the interim inspection in September 2017 has been partly addressed. Refreshers in safeguarding and restraint training have been delivered, resulting in all staff being up to date with mandatory training. Staff have yet to complete training in working with young people who display sexualised behaviours. This has not been a priority as this behaviour has not been seen since the young person‟s admission. The home‟s records are detailed and provide a comprehensive picture of the young person‟s progress and experiences. They are frequently reviewed and the manager is generally proactive in ensuring that external agencies provide key documentation, such as the local authority placement plan and minutes from children looked after reviews. However, the manager has not ensured that a copy of the young person‟s care order has

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

been acquired in order to form part of the young person‟s 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

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: SC062263 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Time-Out Children‟s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Timeout Children‟s Homes Limited, Unit 2, Mill Fold, Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge HX6 4DH

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Inspector

Paul Scott, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC062263 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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