Children's Home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children‟s home: 1256638 1 Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for young people who have learning disabilities or who exhibit complex behaviours because of their childhood experiences. The home provides care for up to three young people.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since the home opened in October 2017. He holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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

Date of last inspection: first inspection

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 1256638 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children‟s needs; and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b), (2)(b)(vi)) 09/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that the health and well- being needs of children are met; that children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and that children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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 staff help each child to achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child‟s relevant plans. (Regulation 10(1)(a)(b)(c), (2)(a)(i)) 26/10/2018

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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 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

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)(a)(i)(b)) 09/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered 26/10/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1256638 3 person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the 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 -

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b), (2)(b)(c)(e)(h)) The registered person must ensure that the privacy of children is appropriately protected. (Regulation 21(a)) 09/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children‟s home. (Regulation 23(1)) 09/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children‟s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person‟s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person‟s opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children‟s well-being. (Regulation 44(1), (4)(a)(b)) 26/10/2018

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the children‟s guide helps children to understand: what the day-to- day routines of the home are („what happens in the home‟); the statement of purpose of the home (the care they can expect to receive while living there); how to make a complaint in line with the home‟s complaints procedure; how to access advocacy support or independent advocacy if eligible; and how to contact the Office of the Children‟s Commissioner. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including quality standards‟, page 24, paragraph 4.22) Inspection report children‟s home: 1256638 4  Ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child

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Recommendations

to understand this and carry it out. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including quality standards‟, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  Ensure that staff understand the system for rewarding and celebrating positive behaviour and recognising where children have managed situations well. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including quality standards‟, page 47, paragraph 9.39)  Ensure that children are encouraged by staff to see the home‟s records as „living documents‟ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including quality standards‟, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and the staff member have a copy of the record. („Guide to the children‟s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.4) Inspection report children‟s home: 1256638 5

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improvement to be good

Young people have not experienced consistent care. Half of the care staff have left the home since it opened in October 2017. This change has prevented young people from establishing secure relationships with staff whom they have grown to know over time.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always promote healthy lifestyles for young people. For example, one young person has a healthy eating plan to help them to lose weight. However, staff allowed the young person to eat unhealthy food six times in one week. This lack of attention prevents young people from achieving positive health outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not support young people to develop the skills that they need to prepare them for adulthood. The registered manager recognises that this is an area for development.

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improvement to be good

Staff engage young people in regular key-work discussions. However, young people are not invited to make comments on the records made by the staff. This limits young people from being able to express their views on matters that are important to them.

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improvement to be good

The manager has implemented a young person‟s guide to the home which details the care that young people can expect to receive. However, the guide does not accurately reflect the range of activities that young people are offered. This oversight means that young people who move into the home do not have an accurate understanding of the opportunities that are available to them.

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improvement to be good

Despite these shortfalls, young people do make progress. For example, one young person has achieved a lifeguard qualification. Another young person, who had previously experienced disrupted education, is now making good progress at school. One family member told the inspector, „(name of the young person) has come on really well… they have supported her 100%. They listen to (name of the young person). I think they have done her the world of good.‟

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improvement to be good

Staff actively support young people to maintain links with people who are important to them. This includes travelling long distances to support young people with visits to see their family. The positive approach supports young people to rebuild key relationships.

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improvement to be good

Young people‟s risk assessments are not always accurate and are not routinely updated to reflect changes. For example, one young person‟s risk assessment was not updated to reflect that they had accessed inappropriate material using the home‟s wi-fi. In addition, staff do not record when they have read a risk assessment. This means that staff do not always have current or up-to-date information to help them to reduce the risks that young people pose. Inspection report children‟s home: 1256638 6 Staff are not consistent, either in how they respond to young people‟s behaviour or in the rewards and sanctions that they impose. This results in young people being confused about what is expected of them.

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improvement to be good

The manager has not ensured that all staff have the necessary training to enable them to meet the needs of the young people living at the home. Not all staff have undertaken training to support their understanding of the risks of child sexual exploitation or how to keep young people safe online. Because of this, staff do not have the essential skills and knowledge to recognise and support young people who might be at risk.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not ensure that medication is managed safely. For example, staff do not always record when young people have declined to take their medication. This means that it is not clear that support is given to young people regarding their medication.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that young people live in a homely environment. This includes helping young people to personalise their bedrooms. This support helps young people to settle into the home and to take pride in their environment. However, staff do not ensure that safety standards are consistently maintained. For example, food is not always stored correctly. This poses a potential risk to the health and well-being of young people.

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improvement to be good

Staff implement clear strategies to prevent young people from going missing from the home. This has resulted in one young person demonstrating a significant reduction in their „missing‟ incidents.

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improvement to be good

Safe recruitment practices help to ensure that staff employed at the home are safe to work with young people.

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

Leaders and managers have not ensured that the staff team is made up of those with a balance of skills, experience and knowledge.

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

Staff told the inspector that they feel supported by the registered manager. Staff receive regular supervision which provides them with the opportunity to review their own professional development and the care of the young people. However, records of staff supervision are not always sufficiently detailed and do not provide clear action plans. This limits the benefit of supervision in helping to improve staff practice.

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

The registered manager does not ensure that children‟s privacy is consistently protected. For example, on one occasion a member of staff received their supervision in a public place. This fails to promote young people‟s rights to confidentiality.

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

An independent person visits the home every month and provides a report of their visit. However, this report does not always evaluate how young people are effectively safeguarded. This reduces its effectiveness in improving the service.

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

The registered manager is passionate about achieving the best for the young people Inspection report children‟s home: 1256638 7 living at the home. He is aware of the areas raised during this inspection and has started to implement plans to address these. At the time of this inspection, these are in the initial stages and therefore their impact is not yet known. Inspection report children‟s home: 1256638 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: 1256638 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Black Birches, Hadnall, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY4 3DH

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Inspector

Tracey Coglan Greig, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1256638 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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