Children's home run by Care 4 Children Holdco Limited in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: 1240803 1 Registered provider: Care 4 Children Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and run. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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: 31 October 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/11/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1240803 2

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure- that staff help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study. (Regulation 8(1), (2)(a)(i)(ii)) 31/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children- receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14(1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to the staff liaising with the placing authority in a timely manner in order to secure a child’s pathway plan. 30/06/2018

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Recommendations

 Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30). This specifically relates to establishing a system that captures information from missing from home incidents and any gaps in interviews that do take place.  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2). This specifically relates to supervisors ensuring that they meet the company’s expectations of supervisory timescales for new staff.

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Recommendations

Inspection report children’s home: 1240803 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good individual progress from their starting points. Over time, they begin to value the role that education plays in their lives, develop aspirations and plans for their future and engage with the advice that is offered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For those young people who struggle with formal education, staff are persistent and supportive in helping them to realise their goals. All young people say that they feel listened to and cared about and that staff have made a difference to their lives. However, those young people currently refusing to attend formal education have not, in the interim, been afforded consistent and regular opportunities to continue their learning via the internet or a tutor.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s complex behaviours, challenges and histories are understood well by the manager and staff. Staff take a caring and resilient approach, and this enables them to establish and maintain positive relationships with young people. Young people say that they feel respected and understood, and that they value the individual time and attention that staff offer them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Healthy routines are well established for young people. They engage in learning new skills and enhancing existing skills, and begin envisaging their lives as independent young adults. They are given opportunities to take part in fun and new activities that offer them positive examples of the use of leisure time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Over time, young people begin to manage their emotional responses to frustration or anger in a more positive way. Through the positive role modelling from staff and ongoing supportive conversations that staff offer, young people become more reflective and self-aware.

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

The risks associated with young people’s previous and current behaviours are understood well by the staff. From their starting points, young people have made good progress, and the likelihood of serious harm and criminalisation has diminished.

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

The frequency, severity and type of drug use, that was a major focus of young people’s lives prior to living at the home, have diminished. Previous associations that posed a significant risk to their welfare and safety have ceased.

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

Staff offer good boundaries and expectations, whilst being realistic and flexible with regards to young people’s growing sense of independence. They are clear and consistent with young people. All young people feel that the staff and ‘rules’ are fair and, on the whole, young people are responsive to and respectful of those rules. Inspection report children’s home: 1240803 4 Any incidents at the home are talked about, resolved and managed without recourse to police involvement. There has not been any use of physical restraint since the last inspection. This offers young people opportunities to learn, reflect and grow in self- awareness.

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

Young people, on the whole, do not go missing from the home. Any incidents are responded to by staff within agreed protocols and arrangements, and they are active in searching for young people, ensuring their safe return. However, there is no current system for recording and evaluating return home interviews when they have taken place. This therefore limits the managerial oversight and evaluation of incidents.

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

Any allegations or concerns regarding staff practice are dealt with in a timely manner by the management team. Appropriate professionals are involved and consulted, and procedures are followed that ensure that young people receive safe care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She was registered to manage the home in September 2017. All the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides effective and strong leadership to the staff team. Her presence at the home ensures that staff are offered daily support and advice. However, supervision for some newly appointed staff has not met company expectations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the young people well and her ‘hands-on’ approach ensures that she has individual relationships with the young people. She makes herself available to young people and staff alike.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals report timely, focused and appropriate levels of communication from the manager. They consider that both the manager’s and staff’s understanding of young people is thorough and that the views of young people are fully represented. A particular strength highlighted by professionals is the resilience shown by staff when faced with complex and challenging behaviours from young people. Young people have benefited from this resilience through the trusting relationships that they have established with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and management team ensure that they offer individualised care to young people. They are sensitive with regards to the difficulties that some young people face in negotiating and maintaining relationships with family members. Staff ensure that young people are fully supported to develop and increase their contact arrangements in line with local authority plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The views of young people are important to the staff, and an effort is made to ensure that they are regularly consulted about all aspects of their care. This takes place on an individual and group basis. However, securing written pathway plans from local authorities has not been pursued in a timely manner. This has led to some young people Inspection report children’s home: 1240803 5 experiencing anxiety about the timing of future moves.

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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 difference 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: 1240803 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care 4 Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Care 4 Children, 1 Stuart Road, Bredbury Park Industrial Estate, Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2SR

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Inspector

Pauline Yates, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1240803 7 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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