Children's Home run by Courtyard Care Limited in Bolton

Inspection report children‟s home: SC389823 1 SC389823 Registered provider: Courtyard Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five young people who have a range of emotional and mental health difficulties. The current manager was registered with Ofsted in February 2018.

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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: 14 December 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC389823 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/12/2017 Full Good 16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/12/2016 Full Good 04/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC389823 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 complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(5)) 31/07/2018

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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—

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Requirement Due date

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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that each part of an identified risk is suitably addressed. 31/07/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC389823 4

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all children‟s case records (regulation 36) are kept up to date. Case records must be kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that there are suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of medication. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that the home is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded and can access services to meet needs identified in their relevant plans. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 64, paragraph 15.1) This is specifically in relation to using the safer area location report when making a decision on whether the environment is safe for a new admission.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive good care that is making a positive difference to their lives. Staff‟s strong relationships with a range of external professionals mean that young people receive well-planned care that promotes improved outcomes across all aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a home that is very nurturing and caring. One young person said, „I love it here and would not want to be anywhere else.‟ A parent said, „It is like a home from home.‟ This was echoed by a social worker who said, „The staff team has an exceptional understanding of her needs. Therapy and care are given in a calm and caring way.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person has recently come to live in this home. Pre-planning for this admission was very good and included numerous meetings with the young person and a range of healthcare professionals. Therefore, the manager was confident that they could meet the young person‟s needs. However, the manager did not use the safer location area report to see whether the location of the home posed any risks to the young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the young people have come to the end of their formal education. Some young people have completed their exams and are waiting for their results. Two young people have successfully finished their first year at college and two of the young people plan to start college in September 2018. One young person said, „I am really happy that I have got into my chosen college and I am doing an equine course.‟ Therefore, young people Inspection report children‟s home: SC389823 5 are following their dreams and have ambitions for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Generally, young people receive their medication in line with their prescription. However, the inspector observed a recording error. This did not affect the young person but had the potential to do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

High levels of therapeutic support provide individual young people with a strong platform that is supporting them to overcome their past difficulties, develop a positive self-view and increase their emotional resilience. Staff regularly consult with the home‟s clinician. They provide guidance, training, support and understanding to staff in working with a range of issues and behaviours that young people present. Furthermore, individual weekly sessions are offered to the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of experiences for young people is good. Staff understand that taking part in social activities can have a huge impact on some young people‟s anxieties. Staff work extremely hard to help individual young people to overcome these barriers. As a result, young people are involved in activities such as ballet, dance, walking and trips to the cinema. All of the young people are actively planning their summer holiday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the young people to develop and maintain good relationships and regular contact with their families. The manager and staff value parents‟ views and include these in the care plans for the young people. A parent said, „I feel fully involved in my daughter‟s care and staff always keep me informed.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are being prepared for becoming independent. For example, they are routinely involved in shopping, helping to prepare meals, doing their laundry and helping with chores in the home. Transition plans are being formulated for the young people who will be moving on next year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and decorated and furnished to a good standard. The young people take pride in their home and display photographs and artwork throughout the home.

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

The young people are very positive about the care that they receive and say that they feel safe living in the home. One young person said, „This is the safest I have ever been.‟ Young people said that they can talk to any member of staff if they are worried or felt unsafe.

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

Young people have built strong and trusting relationships with the staff, who listen to them and invest time in them on a daily basis. As a result, young people are provided with the support to help reduce their levels of anxiety and manage their feelings.

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

Young people have a strong sense of well-being. They make significant progress in overcoming their past difficulties. For example, one young person had a fear of travelling with strangers. He will now go in a taxi with staff. There is a clear plan to move this Inspection report children‟s home: SC389823 6 forward to other forms of transport and this will assist him with his independence.

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

Generally, risk assessments are good and members of staff help the young people to understand risk and how to keep themselves safe. However, some young people have numerous aspects to their self-injurious behaviours and these are covered in one assessment. As a result, there are no clear strategies or guidance for staff on each individual method used to manage incidents of self-harmful behaviour.

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

Young people rarely go missing from this home. There have been a few occasions when young people have left college without permission. Staff have been alerted quickly and they have followed the young person‟s individual missing from home protocol. They have been successful in locating the young person and encouraging them to return to the home.

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

Since the last inspection in December 2017, there have been no incidents of bullying, no physical interventions, sanctions or any safeguarding concerns. The young people benefit from consistent boundaries and structure. High staffing ratios mean that the young people have appropriate levels of support to keep them safe.

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

The recruitment of staff is very thorough, and ensures that all staff are suitable to work with the young people. Safeguarding procedures are robust, and clearly understood by all staff. Safeguarding training is provided for staff and this is regularly updated to ensure that their knowledge remains up to date with current practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified manager. He is a qualified social worker and he is building his skills in managing the home and the staff team. He provides strong and effective leadership to a highly motivated staff team. The manager and staff can clearly demonstrate the positive impact that living at the home has had on enhancing the lives of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager creates a supportive environment for staff to challenge, give their opinions and express their views. Staff confirm that they receive regular and effective supervision. An outstanding area of practice is that staff receive training in what is expected of them within supervision. This means that supervision is a two-way process and an open forum to discuss staff practice and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular training in a wide range of subjects to enhance their skills, knowledge and practice to meet the challenging needs of the young people. The home‟s clinician delivers training on emotional and mental health and attends the staff meeting. Therefore, each young person‟s care plan is scrutinised and regular changes can be made to support the young people when they are in crisis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people‟s written records give a detailed picture of their experiences. These records provide an insight and understanding of the young people‟s lives and how the home is addressing and planning for their future. However, some records were not Inspection report children‟s home: SC389823 7 signed or dated by the author.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. He makes effective use of both external and internal monitoring to ensure that high standards of care practice are maintained. However, the manager does not routinely use the views of the young people, their parents or stakeholders in his six-monthly monitoring of the home. This does not affect the good standards of care that the young people receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Highly effective relationships with social workers, psychologists and therapists mean that young people receive well-planned care that promotes improved outcomes across all aspects of their lives. Feedback from stakeholders, at this inspection, was extremely positive. One social worker said, „I cannot fault them. I do not get this high level of communication from all of the children‟s homes that I have children in.‟ Another said, „Staff are very knowledgeable and child-focused. I only have praise for them.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

At the last inspection, the registered manager was asked to ensure that any update to the statement of purpose was sent to Ofsted. This has been received and it clearly highlights the ethos and objectives of the home. Furthermore, a requirement about the manager ensuring that when required they challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to ensure that each child‟s needs are met in accordance with the child‟s relevant plans has been met/has not been met. Although the manager has not had an occasion to challenge a professional, he has devised a document that would capture the request, actions and outcomes in regards to this.

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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: SC389823 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Courtyard Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Optima House, 100 Manchester Road, Denton, Manchester M34 3PR

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Inspector

Pam Nuckley: social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC389823 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 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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