Children's Home run by Care Haven (UK) Limited in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 1 SC065374 Registered provider: Care Haven (UK) Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned and managed.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s registered manager has been in place since October 2015.

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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: 6 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: SC065374 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/12/2017 Full Good 25/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/05/2016 Full Good 15/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) This relates specifically to ensuring that staff receive face-to-face training on attachment, ligatures, self-harm and sexually harmful behaviour.

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Recommendations

 Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Recommendations

 Staff must be aware of whether a child has an education, health and care plan and the information in it. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The needs of young people are carefully assessed prior to their admission. This ensures that they are appropriately placed and matched. Young people enjoy warm and secure relationships with staff and they sustain their positive attachments. Young people make considerable progress in relation to their individual starting points. They benefit from effective, high-quality support from staff that contributes to change and improvement in their lives. A social worker reports:

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In terms of the placement I’m very pleased. My young person is now very settled. I can’t thank them enough for the work they’re putting in. I have no issues with the quality of care or with the way the young person’s needs are being met. For me, it’s very good in terms of their vigilance. The staff have put extra measures in place and manage incidents well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning is undertaken extremely well and practice is highly individualised to meet the specific needs of the young people at the home. Young people benefit from continuity of care and have stability and consistency in their lives. Staff provide a stable, supportive and nurturing environment for young people to thrive. Young people enjoy living at the home where they develop a sense of permanence and belonging. Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 4 Young people report that, ‘It’s good. Staff are respectful. All the staff I like. Staff are funny. They focus on you and they spend time with you. They give up everything to help you.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have access to a range of health services to promote their physical and emotional well-being. Medical consent is obtained, so staff are clear about the types of health decisions and responsibilities that are delegated to them. Staff work closely with health professionals to meet young people’s specific health needs and to promote their positive health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people attend school regularly. They are learning and making good progress considering their starting points. Staff consistently have high aspirations for young people. Staff work proactively and constructively with the providers of young people’s education to promote individual educational achievement, sustained progress and learning. However, some young people’s records require planning documents that are currently outstanding from their placing authorities, for example an education, health and care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide young people with positive, enjoyable and age-appropriate activities. Young people are enabled to take appropriate risks to promote their resilience, growth and natural development. Young people’s talents are recognised and their interests and hobbies, such as football, theatre and boxing, are actively promoted and encouraged. Young people’s commitment and hard work through the recent school term meant that they took part in an extremely successful theatrical production. Young people benefited from a high level of positive support and encouragement from both school and home, and from their peers, which enabled them to perform to a large audience of friends and family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

I just really like it; it’s hard to say why. It’s different, but in a good way. I think this is the best house until I get to go home. Staff are straight to the point with us and they won’t lie to you. If I’m really upset, staff are there for me. It’s brilliant. It’s very good and I really like it.

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

The safety of young people is consistently at the forefront of staff’s practice. Staff have a very good understanding of young people’s specific needs and emerging vulnerabilities, and take appropriate action to protect them. Young people are kept safe and confirm that they feel safe living at the home.

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

Significant incidents are shared with the appropriate authorities that are charged with a duty to protect young people. This ensures that young people are kept safe and feel protected from harm. Young people know how to make a complaint and they told the inspector they had no complaints or concerns. Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 5 Staff are super-vigilant when it comes to the day-to-day supervision of young people. They ensure that young people are closely supported in accordance with their specific needs. It is rare for young people to go missing. However, should they do so there are effective procedures and arrangements to locate young people quickly and promote their safe return.

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

There have been no referrals to children and young people’s services since the last inspection. Staff are clear about their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. They ensure that young people are protected from abuse and all other forms of significant harm.

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

Staff apply the home’s rules and boundaries consistently to promote a safe and positive environment for young people. There is good use of targeted incentives and rewards to encourage the development of young people’s positive behaviour. Staff consistently acknowledge and reinforce young people’s positive behaviour. The use of sanctions is rare and when they are used to address negative behaviour, they are fair and proportionate.

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

Restraint is a last resort that is only ever used to keep young people safe from harm. However, a small number of restraints have resulted in ground holds, which increases the risk of young people suffering accidental harm. Consequently, increased scrutiny of restraint practice is needed to address this issue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed efficiently and effectively. It employs a well-qualified, trained and experienced registered manager and deputy, who exercise effective leadership of staff and the day-to-day operation of the home. Both are suitably qualified and hold the level 5 diploma in leadership and management. Leaders and managers ensure that young people’s needs are prioritised effectively, and staff are well supported, and professionally managed, supervised and led.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision of their practice and have access to relevant training that enables them to meet the specific needs of young people. However, there is an over-reliance on on-line training; while this is beneficial, it is no substitute for professionally delivered, face-to-face training. Certain subjects, for example working with sexually harmful behaviour, self-harm and ligature training, would be better delivered by experienced practitioners to maximise staff’s knowledge and learning in these areas. A recommendation is made in relation to this issue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people benefit from a physically safe, appropriately secure, warm, comfortable and homely environment. Staff ensure that a high-quality and safe environment is consistently maintained for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An independent person visits the home on a regular basis to scrutinise the quality of young people’s care and the arrangements to safeguard them and promote their well- being. These impartial monitoring visits help the registered manager to understand the Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 6 strengths and weaknesses of the home. The manager makes positive use of the home’s internal and external monitoring activities to eradicate identified weaknesses and secure the home’s continuing improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A committed, motivated and enthusiastic staff group is employed to provide young people with effective, high-quality support. Staff have a positive work ethic and they meet the aims and objectives as set out in the home’s statement of purpose, delivering a good-quality service for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has met two of the three recommendations from the last inspection. New carpets have been fitted, which makes the home look homelier, and the registered manager has now included an overview of new admissions, placement breakdowns, disruptions and failures, if applicable, as part of his six-monthly quality of care review. However, the home has not provided face-to-face training for staff on attachment. Consequently, this recommendation is repeated.

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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: SC065374 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Haven (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: c/o Stephen Glicher & Co, Eden Point, Three Acres Lane, Cheadle Hulme, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 6RL

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Patricia Swallow

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Inspector

Anthony Kyem, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 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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