Children's home run by Care 4 Children Residential Services Ltd in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: 1240842 1 Registered provider: Care 4 Children Residential Services Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is one of a number of homes operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A mobile motorhome is used to access outward-bound activities at set locations as part of the service.

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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 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: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1240842 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 30/10/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1240842 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—

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(vi)) 07/08/2018

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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)) 07/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure that –

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Requirement Due date

the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(i)(d)) 07/08/2018

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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 07/08/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1240842 4 children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c))

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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

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c))`` 07/08/2018

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Recommendations

 As part of reviewing and revising where appropriate the statement of purpose (Regulation 16(3)(a)), the registered person should review and update the children’s guide as necessary, and make sure children are given an explanation of any changes. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.23)

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improvement to be good

Progress for children is mixed, with children doing well in some areas but not progressing so well in others. Similarly, experiences for some children are varied, with children continuing to engage in risk-taking behaviour, such as going missing, but also enjoy some positive experiences, engaging in activities and forging positive relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

The programme of activities and experiences provided for young people is extensive. Young people are encouraged to try new experiences and take part in activities they have never done before, such as mountain climbing, wake boarding and bike riding. The service provides a unique experience for young people to remove them from crisis and help them to re-engage in positive behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to participate in ‘award scheme and development network’ Inspection report children’s home: 1240842 5 (ASDAN) awards while in the placement. For one young person, the staff at the home created a plan that would also include supporting his attendance at school to complete his GCSEs, transporting him a considerable distance. However, the young person refused to attend on some days and as a result did not sit all of his exams.

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improvement to be good

Because this service provides crisis intervention, plans for young people are time-limited. However, plans for young people do not reflect their day-to-day care needs in areas such as health, education and contact. Some plans contain conflicting information that does not allow staff to understand or meet the day-to-day care needs of young people.

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improvement to be good

Placements to the home are predominantly made in an emergency. However, information gathered prior to the admission of young people does not always allow for risks to be identified or to allow for strategies to be formulated so that staff can meet young people’s needs. Additionally, information received on referral does not always allow the manager and staff at the home to adequately plan and prepare for a smooth transition into the home. The current manager is currently undergoing a review of the questions asked during the referral process to improve this.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to eat healthily and take part in shopping for food and cooking while in placement. Children are informed on arrival about their rights and how to make a complaint if they wish. However, when asked, one young person could not remember being given this information. The current children’s guide is out of date and does not reflect the current provision. The manager recognises this shortfall and will be updating this as part of the development of the service.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, one requirement remains outstanding in regard to the maintenance of the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s response to missing from home episodes are not robust or proactive, and potentially increases risks for vulnerable children. Furthermore, staff do not follow the protocol for children who are missing.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments for young people do not always contain clear strategies and actions for staff to take. When staff record the actions they have taken, they do not always reflect the strategies in individual behaviour management plans. This can lead to inconsistency and confusion for staff and for young people.

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improvement to be good

Sanctions for young people are not clear, and staff are confused about what actions are sanctions and what are not. This means that the recording of sanctions is inconsistent. For example, one young person was denied the use of the laptop that he also used to complete his education. There is no record of this. Measures such as loss of radio and TV are not recorded. This means that the effectiveness of the sanction is not explored, children’s views are not recorded and there is no management oversight as to how effective measures are. Inspection report children’s home: 1240842 6 Staff and managers undertake a range of training in safeguarding matters. Staff undertake online courses while waiting for facilitated courses. This ensures that they have some basic knowledge of safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current manager is currently undergoing the registration progress. He is already an established manager who is experienced and has a strong commitment to improving outcomes for children. The staff team has seen an improvement in the level of support and supervision offered to them since he has taken over the day-to-day running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision for staff takes place on a regular basis and staff feel that they are well supported after incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is highly qualified, skilled and experienced in leading and providing outward-bound activities and programmes for young people. Staff ensure that all activities for young people are risk assessed and that safety is prioritised. However, they have not yet all achieved the required qualification to meet the children’s home regulations. Nor have all staff completed the mandatory training set out by the organisation to meet the needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is well established in his role and, by continuing with his professional development, remains up to date with research and practice. The manager advocates well for children and ensures that challenge takes place when necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager recognises that there is insufficient evidence of consultation with children and how their views are used to influence the development of the service. The registered manager recognises the importance of children’s participation, and plans are in place to develop this area of practice.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1240842 7 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: 1240842 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care 4 Children Residential Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Care 4 Children, 1 Stuart Road, Bredbury Park Industrial Estate, Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2SR

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Inspector

Jessica Forshaw, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1240842 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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