Children's home run by My Life - My Choice Ltd in Hyndburn

Inspection report children‘s home: SC489038 1 SC489038 Registered provider: My Life – My Choice Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and short-break accommodation for children and young people who have disabilities. Services are provided to children up to 17 years old, and can be continued through the transition period of their lives, from age 18 to 25 years.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 22 February 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/06/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‘s home: SC489038 2

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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. 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; and that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child‘s health. (Regulation 12(1), (2)(a)(i)(d)) 17/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‘s home that— promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 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(1)(b), (2)(c)(f)) 17/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records

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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; 17/08/2018 Inspection report children‘s home: SC489038 3 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. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31–33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home‘s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, clear recording. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 For children‘s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 Children‘s care plans should reflect that they are receiving care which meets their needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account of the child‘s gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs, previous experiences and any relevant plans. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 14, paragraph 3.2) Inspection report children‘s home: SC489038 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive individualised care that meets their needs and supports their well- being. As a result, they make good progress in many areas and are enabled to develop their daily living skills. One family member described how their child has increased his use of verbal communication and developed the ability to eat with cutlery since he has started staying at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback about the quality of care and the support that young people experience is consistently positive. Parents, carers and external professionals speak highly of the home and express their confidence in its ability to meet young people‘s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of young people‘s needs. Staff were observed supporting young people positively in a kind and caring way, and take time to understand young people‘s individual methods of communication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff ensure that they have a good understanding of young people‘s health needs and any associated risks. There are examples of good health outcomes experienced by young people. One young person has been supported to achieve and maintain a healthy weight during a long-term stay at the home. Due to arrangements made by the registered manager, another young person has benefited from a review of his emergency medication, which helps to protect him from dangerous clusters of seizures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Arrangements are in place to ensure that young people‘s medicines are safely managed. Managers liaise effectively with healthcare professionals to ensure that they are aware of any changes to a young person‘s health or medication regime.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have the opportunity to engage in a variety of fun and fulfilling activities, both inside and outside the home. The home is well resourced and has a number of facilities, including a hydropool and a ball pool. One family member spoke of how, during his stays at the home, their young person has been enabled to enjoy swimming for the first time in several years.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff are able to identify and respond promptly to safeguarding concerns. Appropriate referrals are raised with the relevant agencies so that any concerns are dealt with effectively. This helps to promote young people‘s safety and well-being.

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improvement to be good

Risks to the health, safety and well-being of young people are not always clearly identified. Avoidable risks, such as those relating to the environment or individual young people accessing facilities like the hydropool, are not always clearly assessed. Clear risk Inspection report children‘s home: SC489038 5 assessments and risk management plans are required so that staff have the necessary guidance to maintain young people‘s safety and well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of young people‘s emotional responses, and they support young people positively to develop safe behaviours. As a result, incidents of physical restraint are rare, despite the large numbers of young people with complex behavioural needs who access the service.

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improvement to be good

However, during this inspection, some shortfalls were identified in relation to recording incidents of physical restraint. Some records lacked adequate detail and, in one example, no record had been completed at all. It was also identified that records of restraint are not consistently monitored in a way that identifies practice issues or required changes to a young person‘s individual behaviour support plan.

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improvement to be good

A requirement was made at the last inspection in relation to the safe recruitment of staff. This requirement has been suitably addressed and, during this inspection, it was confirmed that managers ensure that all potential employees are subject to appropriate background checks. This helps to ensure that young people receive their care from staff of suitable character. However, the records of the additional checks carried out during the recruitment process could be improved to provide clearer information.

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

There is a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager in place, who has been registered since March 2015. The provider of the home closely supports the registered manager and is fully involved in the home‘s daily running. The provider and registered manager demonstrate the ability to respond to feedback and learn from significant events and, as such, show a commitment to continuous improvement.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been good improvements made in terms of the organisation of the home. There is greater attention paid to the numbers and mix of young people staying at the home at any one time. Effective processes have been developed to determine staffing levels in line with individual young people‘s needs. These developments have helped to improve the safety and quality of the service.

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

Managers and staff have a good understanding of young people‘s individual needs. However, in some examples, young people‘s care plans lack sufficient detail about how their needs are to be met. The registered manager has identified this issue and, as a result, is in the process of implementing a new care planning system. This will provide improved guidance for staff and help to ensure that young people receive consistently safe and effective care.

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

The home has experienced a high level of staff turnover since the last inspection. Initially, there was a need to use agency staff to ensure that staffing levels remained safe. However, following a successful recruitment drive, the registered manager has been able to stop the use of agency staff. This results in greater consistency for young people. Inspection report children‘s home: SC489038 6 There is evidence that the registered manager is developing processes to monitor the safety and quality of the service. This has led to some improvements in monitoring systems. However, further improvements are required. Shortfalls remain in relation to monitoring across a number of areas. These include environmental safety, restraint records and staff training. Better use of quality assurance systems will enable managers to identify and address areas in need of improvement in a prompt and effective manner. Inspection report children‘s home: SC489038 7

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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: SC489038 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: My Life – My Choice Limited

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Andrea Brighouse

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Inspector

Marie Cordingley, social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: SC489038 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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