Children's home run by Crystal Care Solutions Limited in Newcastle-under-Lyme

Inspection report children’s home: SC461938 1 SC461938 Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions 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

The home is registered to provide short-term to long-term residential placements for young people, caring for no more than two young people at any one time. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and children who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager at the home. The interim manager is in the process of completing and submitting her application to Ofsted.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Inspection report children’s home: SC461938 2 12/07/2017 Full Good 25/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/10/2016 Full Good 09/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC461938 3

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Recommendations

 Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care sets out the steps local authorities and their partners should take to prevent children from going missing and to protect them when they go missing. Children’s homes should have regard to the relevant aspects of this guidance. Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.25 and page 46 paragraph 9.31) In particular, ensure that independent return interviews take place when young people have been missing from home and the records clearly show that this has happened.  Ensure that all children’s case records (regulation 36) are kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up-to- date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. Staff should be familiar

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Recommendations

with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraphs 14.3 and 14.4)  Children should be 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)  Expectations of standards of behaviour should be high for all staff and children in the home. These standards should be clear and unambiguous. Positive behaviour and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged. Staff should also understand the system for rewarding and celebrating positive behaviour and recognising where children have managed situations well. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11 and page 47, paragraph 9.39)  The registered person should agree with their local police force, procedures and guidance on police involvement with the home to reduce unnecessary police involvement in managing behaviour and criminalisation of behaviours. Children should not be charged with offences resulting from behaviour within a children’s home that would similarly lead to police involvement if it occurred in a family home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.40)  For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. However, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s

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Recommendations

homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, the language used by staff should not be of an institutional nature. Inspection report children’s home: SC461938 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have high aspirations for young people. Young people make good progress in all areas of their lives. They achieve improved outcomes that prepare them for their transitions into adulthood so that they can cope with the challenges of maintaining good health, keeping themselves safe, and managing their emotions and behaviours in order that they can build and sustain relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from good routines that support their attendance and engagement in education. The manager and staff maintain regular communication with education professionals, which means that appropriate information is shared. Therefore, the most appropriate support and intervention is in place to ensure that the young people’s education needs are met well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the young people’s health and development needs. They ensure that young people attend routine health appointments and that they seek specialist help when required. Young people are encouraged and supported to engage in social and recreational activities that promote a healthier lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The contact young people have with their friends and family is of great importance to them and the manager and staff work hard to promote this. The manager and staff have liaised effectively with placing local authorities and parents to allow the young people to have unsupervised contact with parents and friends. The staff ensure that contact is meaningful and safe, and is always in the best interests of the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person has reached the age of 18 years and is due to move to supported accommodation. The staff at the home have been proactive in supporting the young person’s transition and increasing her independence skills. The manager has challenged the local authority in relation to the delay in the transition, and is a strong advocate for her.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between the young people, the manager and staff, parents and friends and other professionals are generally positive. The manager and staff support young people to manage and improve difficult relationships. This helps young people to develop and sustain attachments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming and improvements have been made in the decor. It feels like a family home, with photographs of the young people and others who are important to them around the home. However, on occasions the language used by staff during the inspection was institutionalised in nature.

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

Inspection report children’s home: SC461938 5 Young people feel protected and are protected from harm. The manager and staff are alert to the individual risks for young people. Appropriate strategies are in place to manage and reduce the risks that young people may face at the home and while in the community.

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

The number of incidents when young people go missing from home has reduced. However, when young people have been missing they have not always received an independent return home interview in line with statutory guidance. Consequently, young people have not been able to share information that may uncover information that can help to protect them from the risk of going missing again, from risks that they may have been exposed to while missing or from risk factors at their home.

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

Young people can identify a trusted adult who they can talk to about any concerns and they know how to make a complaint. Suitable action was taken in response to a complaint made about a bank member of staff by a young person and her parent. This resulted in a referral to the designated officer. Although the allegation was unsubstantiated, the bank member of staff no longer works at the home due to the impact this would have on the young person.

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

Behaviour management in the home is not robust. Rewards for good behaviour are regularly used. However, these are not always consistent or documented in the behaviour management and reward records. On one occasion, the police were called to the home inappropriately, to manage the behaviour of a young person. Sanctions are appropriate and the new manager places a lot of focus on these being restorative in nature.

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

Staff are calm and consistent in their approach to supporting young people when they are upset or anxious. The incidents when young people harm themselves have reduced due to the approach and support that they receive from staff. The manager and staff liaise with other professionals to ensure that the young people receive the most appropriate support to meet their emotional and well-being needs, such as from child and adolescent mental health services and learning disability professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has moved from another of the company’s homes, where she was the deputy manager. Her vision for the home’s development is clear and demonstrates her commitment to the staff and young people, and to the continued improvement of the home. Monitoring and review systems are robust and support the manager to identify the home’s strengths and weaknesses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the plans that are in place for the young people. She recognises the importance of monitoring the progress that the young people make. Daily, weekly and monthly progress meetings and reports are completed, involving the young people. This helps the manager to understand the positive impact that living at Inspection report children’s home: SC461938 6 the home has on the young people and she is quick to take appropriate action if suitable progress is not being made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the manager and recognise the improvement she has made in the short time she has been working at the home. One member of staff said, ‘The new manager has lots of ideas to develop the home. She has provided me with more responsibility. She has good relationships with the staff and young people.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and attend monthly team meetings that enable them to reflect on their practice. They have the opportunity to hear and learn from good practice examples to enhance their knowledge and skills. Furthermore, they receive regular training and development opportunities to support their continuous professional development. Consequently, young people benefit from receiving a good quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Generally, young people’s records are good, with a good level of management oversight. However, on some occasions, records for some young people were not clear, and were not signed and dated by the author or other staff to indicate that they had read and understood them. Furthermore, some records do not reflect the voice of the young person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work proactively and positively with professionals and parents. Collaborative working results in the young people receiving the best possible care to meet their individual needs. Professionals and parents spoken to were extremely positive about the manager and staff and the progress that young people make because of the good quality of care provided.

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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: SC461938 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Lisa Mulcahy: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC461938 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 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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