Children's home run by Crystal Care Solutions Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report children‟s home: SC390434 1 SC390434 Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to two young people who have experienced trauma during their childhood which has resulted in their exhibiting complex behaviours. The home is operated by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2016. He is also the registered manager for another home owned by the company. The registered manager holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 27 February 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC390434 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/06/2017 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 27/10/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC390434 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. To ensure that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(2)(b)(vii)(c)(i)) 22/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to 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; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm and that the home‟s day to day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(b)) 22/06/2018

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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; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home‟s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)) 22/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children‟s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers 22/06/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC390434 4 the matters listed in Schedule 1. Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16(1)(5))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered manager ensuring that complaints made against the home are in line with the organisation‟s complaints policy. The registered person must ensure that children can access all appropriate areas of the children‟s home‟s premises; and any limitation placed on a child‟s privacy or access to any area of the home‟s premises is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate; is kept under review and, if necessary, revised and allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(b)(c)) 22/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children‟s home. (Regulation 23(1)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is kept of the administration of medicine. 22/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25(2)(b)) 22/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure. Within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”) has spoken to the user about

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Requirement Due date

the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record 22/06/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC390434 5 confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(b)(c)) The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered manager must keep a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of the actual rosters worked. 22/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40(4)(c)) 22/06/2018

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Ensure that children are 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)

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improvement to be good

Internal and external areas of the home require improvement to ensure that young people are cared for in a homely environment. Although staff have started to address shortfalls in the decor, one young person has waited three months for the redecoration of their bedroom to be undertaken

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has failed to consider the needs of young people when planning new admissions. For example, one young person was admitted without the staff having an understanding of the young person‟s legal status or the extent of the presenting risk. The impact assessment completed by the manager failed to accurately reflect the needs of the other young person already in placement.

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improvement to be good

Staff review and update young people‟s care plans and ensure that young people receive regular key-work sessions. However, the records made of these sessions do not include the voice of the young person. As a result, there is little recorded evidence that shows that young people are given the opportunity to express their views on things that are important to them. Inspection report children‟s home: SC390434 6 Staff help young people to value the importance of education. Despite, some young people having a history of poor school attendance, staff have worked hard to get young people to regularly attend school.

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improvement to be good

Young people receive care from a committed staff team which wants each young person to make progress. A social worker told the inspector, „They (staff) are very hands on. They will go out and go swimming if she wants to. That‟s really positive. The ambition of the staff is evident, they offer a homely, caring… vibe.‟

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improvement to be good

Staff fail to ensure that young people‟s risk assessments are sufficiently detailed. This means that staff are without basic information that enables them to safeguard young people effectively.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not demonstrate sufficient professional curiosity regarding young people‟s relationships. For example, staff have noticed that one young person leaves the home to meet someone whom staff believe might be providing the young person with cigarettes. Despite staff having this knowledge, they have failed to explore this relationship further or consider that this could be potential grooming.

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improvement to be good

Staff fail to operate consistent behaviour management strategies. For example, the registered manager told the inspector that staff are unable to meet the requirements of a young person‟s Deprivation of Liberty order as they cannot lock doors to restrict the young person from leaving the home. In contradiction, staff said that they lock areas of the home to assist them with behaviour management. This strategy is not documented in any young person‟s behaviour management plan.

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improvement to be good

Despite the registered manager having oversight of all physical restraint incident records, the manager has failed to pick up that staff have not received the required post-incident debrief.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has not ensured that the home‟s fire risk assessment is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect young people‟s risks or the practice of staff routinely locking internal doors.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not have sufficient oversight of the administration of medication. For example, staff fail to make a record when a young person declines their medication. This prevents staff from knowing whether a young person has taken their prescribed medication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the regulator has received three complaints regarding the service. All three complaints have been reviewed during this inspection. There are no regulatory shortfalls identified in relation to these complaints. However, the registered manager has not ensured that all complaints received about the home are investigated Inspection report children‟s home: SC390434 7 in line with the organisation‟s procedure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has not taken sufficient action to meet the two requirements raised at the last inspection in February 2018. These relate to improving the physical conditions in the home and a need for greater management oversight of physical intervention records. In addition, one recommendation made at the last inspection, for the manager to improve young people‟s involvement in their care plans, is still not met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has failed to notify Ofsted of an allegation of abuse made against a member of staff. This prevents the regulator from having accurate oversight of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has failed to make an accurate record of the hours he works at the home. This lack of detail makes it difficult to assess whether the registered manager is fulfilling his role by being in day-to-day charge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager is aware of the issues the home faces and has taken initial steps to improve practice. The recent appointment of an experienced deputy manager to a long-term vacancy is intended to strengthen the management structure. However, at this stage it is not possible to fully assess the impact of this additional role.

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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: SC390434 8

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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

Tracey Coglan Greig, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC390434 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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