Children's home run by Lynstead Children’s Services Ltd in Cannock Chase

Inspection report children’s home: SC405772 1 SC405772 Registered provider: Lynstead Childrens Services Ltd 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 care and accommodation for three young people with complex behavioural difficulties. It is operated by a private organisation. The registered manager has the level 5 qualification in leadership and management. She is an experienced manager. The responsible individual has been in post since January 2018.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC405772 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/05/2017 Full Good 19/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/08/2016 Full Good 14/03/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC405772 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 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. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(i)) 10/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard requires the registered person to-

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(2)(f)) 10/08/2018

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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)) 10/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 10/08/2018

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Recommendations

 Any decision to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10) Inspection report children’s home: SC405772 4  Records must be kept of the administration of all medication which include occasions when prescribed medication is refused. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15) Inspection report children’s home: SC405772 5

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improvement to be good

Weak admission practice has failed to inform reliable decision-making. Staff were not equipped with the necessary resources and skills to care for a child who frequently went missing from the home. Lack of planning prior to his move resulted in a reactive response. There were times when staff did not follow, search for or locate this child. Managers’ and staff’s inability to prevent this child from frequently going missing led to the decision to end his place here.

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improvement to be good

An in-depth assessment of this child’s specific needs was not undertaken. The impact assessment was brief and failed to consider fully all aspects of his care and the potential effects on the other children already living in the home. Staff did not have the necessary experience to manage his behaviour. Staff attempted to engage with him, yet were unable to support him to reduce his risky behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Children’s movement in the home is restricted. A communal room is locked and is not readily accessible to the children. This restrictive measure and the practice of using door alarms have not been subject to individual risk assessment.

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improvement to be good

In many aspects, the children are doing well. Two children have made significant progress since moving into the home. One child is now participating in a local boxing club, something that he would not have achieved previously. He is now able to manage his anger much better. Another child is increasing in his self-care skills, and he is able to shop, cook and budget for meals. He proudly told the inspector about a talk that he is giving to other children about the value of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

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improvement to be good

All the children currently living in the home are attending education. The registered manager works closely with teaching staff to ensure effective communication. One child has been able to continue to attend his previous school, with staff support. Another child is completing his GCSEs and has earned a place at the college of his choice. The children are making progress academically.

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improvement to be good

A child who has recently moved into the home has settled in well. His social worker reported that the child had told him, ‘It looks like I will be here forever’. Previously, he had experienced frequent moves. This child was observed to enjoy being in staff’s company and has settled well.

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improvement to be good

The assessment and management of risks do not consistently identify strategies for reducing the potential for children coming to harm. One child who frequently went Inspection report children’s home: SC405772 6 missing was not followed and searched for on every occasion. He kept in contact with staff and returned to his family home. However, his whereabouts were not always known.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and placement plans do not cover all risks and how to reduce them. Areas of concerns are recorded. However, a lack of consistency across all paperwork undermines the staff’s ability to easily identify these issues and respond appropriately.

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improvement to be good

Managers did not advise staff of the necessary steps to take should a child be under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances. Consequently, staff monitored a child’s presentation rather than seeking medical advice.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are generally well met and medication is administered safely. However, the administration of a home remedy during the inspection was not recorded correctly. There was no risk to the child as a result of this failure.

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improvement to be good

The staff have a good knowledge of e-safety. They devise written agreements and set limitations on children’s use of mobile phones and social media, and these are agreed by social workers, parents and children. The staff educate children regarding e-safety risks. However, one child’s risk in relation to his use of the internet media was not recorded consistently in the paperwork. This meant that this issue could potentially be missed. This risk was mitigated against by close supervision. The registered manager corrected this during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

The manager analyses all incidents and physical interventions to ensure that they are appropriate and proportionate. Following an incident, it was identified that changes in a child’s care plan were necessary. As a result, the placement plan was updated. The registered manager consulted children following the incident to ensure that their views were sought. The number of incidents needing physical interventions has been significantly reduced.

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improvement to be good

The location risk assessment has been updated following lessons learned in regards to children at risk of going missing. Placing authorities are, as a result, now more able to make informed decisions.

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

Leaders and managers failed to identify that they were not able to prevent a child from leaving the home and potentially putting himself at risk. There was a delay in requesting a professionals meeting in order to agree strategies to keep him safe. Supervisions and team meetings did not include a thorough review of the failings in relation to this child. This missed an opportunity to learn from what happened as a team and to ensure that the lessons learned formed the basis of the development of the service.

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

Supervisions are not regular. In addition, some records were not readily available to be reviewed. The registered manager and staff have not been enabled to reflect on their practice and the continual development of the service. This has improved more recently, Inspection report children’s home: SC405772 7 following the employment of both the current responsible individual and a new supervision management structure.

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

Leaders and managers have developed positive relationships with professionals involved in the children’s care, and the feedback is positive. A social worker said, ‘They have been very supportive and worked with us to ensure a smooth transition’. An independent reviewing officer reported, ‘They have turned an angry young person into one who is far more confident and sure of himself’.

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

Staff are very positive about the support that they receive from the registered manager and the team. A new member of staff described a positive induction and demonstrated that he was confident to work with the children. He was able to shadow experienced staff prior to working on his own. Another member of staff described the home as ‘one happy family’. All the staff spoken to were positive about the children and spoke proudly about them.

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

Staff have updated the children’s guide. A ‘welcome’ booklet is shared with children when they move into the home so that they know what to expect. It is referred to in key-work sessions to ensure that it is reviewed. Responsive direct work has taken place. One child, who has previously been involved in lighting fires, was educated about the risks involved in this activity. Inspection report children’s home: SC405772 8

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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: SC405772 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lynstead Childrens Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Venture House, 12 Prospect Park, Longford Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 0LG

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Inspector(s)

Suzy Lemmy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC405772 10 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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