Children's Home run by Fairfield Residential Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 1 SC397987 Registered provider: Fairfield Residential Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to provide residential care for up to two children who have learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2017.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 18 to 19 September 2018

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 22 November 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/11/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/05/2016 Full Good 16/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 3

p.2

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.

p.3

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—

p.3

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.3

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.3

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(d))

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, provide training on physical intervention techniques and post-traumatic stress disorder in order to meet the needs of the children placed at the home. 02/11/2018

p.3

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.3

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.3

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.3

Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out 02/11/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 4 in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)) The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1) Schedule 1)

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, provide a statement of the range of needs of the children for whom the home is intended; details of staff qualifications; and a description of how the home promotes appropriate male role models. 02/11/2018

p.4

Recommendations

 Ensure that the home is maintained and decorated to a high standard and provides children with a welcoming and homely environment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

p.4

Recommendations

 Ensure that there is a strong safeguarding culture in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.8) In particular, ensure that all visitors sign out of the home and are taken through the evacuation procedure. Additionally, staff should secure the property by locking all doors and windows when leaving the home unattended.

p.4

Recommendations

 Ensure that any person appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare and includes the views of parents and other stakeholders. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

p.4

Recommendations

 Ensure that the registered person’s review of the quality of care is underpinned by the Quality Standards as described in regulation 5 to 14 and provides an evaluation of their findings. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although the home is registered to care for two children, at the time of the inspection, the home was caring for one child on a solo placement arrangement.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making noticeable progress from her starting point. Staff have a good understanding of her learning disability, complex health needs and interests. As a result, Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 5 the child is benefiting from personalised care that reflects her character, strengths and vulnerabilities.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The team is committed to improving the child’s educational outcomes. Staff work closely with the child’s school, social worker and clinical team. Together, they have devised a bespoke education plan that reflects the child’s specific needs. Consequently, the child is making some progress in her engagement with education.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Similarly, staff successfully encourage the child to attend health appointments, helping her to overcome her fears of, for example, attending the dentist. With staff’s unwavering support, the child’s routine health checks are all up to date. Furthermore, the team has established excellent working relationships with the children and adolescent mental health team, which provides staff with invaluable guidance on promoting the child’s emotional health.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals are highly complimentary about the team and the care provided to the child. The social worker and psychologist commented that the team provides nurturing care and keeps them informed of the child’s progress. Partnership working is a strength of this service.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are helping the child to develop her social skills at a pace that is suited to her needs. With staff support, the child enjoys exploring her local area, including regular visits to the park and the company’s farm. This approach is helping to increase her time out in the community and improving her self-esteem and confidence.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed excellent working relationships with the child’s family. This is reflected in her grandmother’s comments, ‘It is fantastic. I can’t praise them (staff) enough. We can now put our head down at night and sleep knowing that she is OK and safe.’

p.5

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

The child living in the home requires a high level of support and supervision. Suitable staffing levels and a consistent team are helping to keep the child safe. Risk-taking behaviours, such as self-harmful behaviours, are reducing because the child feels safer and settled in her home.

p.5

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

The team has received safeguarding training, including medication administration, basic life support and first aid. As a result, the staff know how to respond when a child’s welfare and safety are compromised. However, two out of three core staff have not yet been trained in physical intervention techniques. This potentially puts the child and staff at risk should a situation arise where it is necessary to use such measures to protect the child from harm.

p.5

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

Excellent joint working between the home, the child’s social worker and the clinical team ensures that all relevant professionals are working collaboratively to protect the child’s welfare. Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 6 The child is benefiting from having opportunities to learn new skills in a supportive and safe environment. For example, staff teach, encourage and support the child to attend to her personal care. This increased independence is further enhancing the child’s safety by reducing the need for others to undertake her personal care.

p.5

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

Staff have sound insight into the child’s specific needs and this helps them to recognise signs of her becoming distressed. Comprehensive risk assessments and behaviour management plans provide staff with effective and practical strategies to successfully manage potentially harmful situations.

p.6

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

Staff were observed sensitively and calmly supporting the child to reduce her levels of anxiety and distress. The child is benefiting from the staff’s calm and consistent approach to challenging behaviour. Additionally, the staff are teaching her safer ways to manage difficult thoughts and feelings.

p.6

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

Medication is safely stored, and staff are trained to administer medication competently. This makes sure that the child’s medical needs are appropriately managed and that her physical and emotional health improve.

p.6

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

Routine health and safety checks ensure that the home is a safe place for children to live. However, some home safety aspects can improve, such as making sure all visitors sign out when leaving the home, informing all visitors of the emergency evacuation procedures and securing the property when there is nobody at the home.

p.6

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

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She is a capable leader and extremely child-focused. Undoubtedly, she is committed to the continued development of the service. This commitment is demonstrated in the improvements achieved since the last inspection. The six requirements set at the previous inspection have been satisfactorily addressed.

p.6

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

There have been improvements in the frequency of staff’s professional supervision. All staff benefit from monthly supervision and team meetings, which provide the staff with the opportunity to reflect on and improve their practice. Additionally, staff are provided with a wide range of training and new staff undertake a thorough induction programme. Consequently, staff feel well supported and teamwork is strong.

p.6

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

The registered manager accepted a placement for a child whose needs are not consistent with the home’s intended purpose, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. Furthermore, she did not ensure that the staff team had the relevant training, for example in post-traumatic stress disorder, to understand the child’s needs. So far, the quality of care and protection provided to the child has not been affected. Strong partnership working with the child’s social worker and the clinical team is helping the team to care for the child safely. Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 7 The home’s statement of purpose does not provide all the required information. It omits details of the range of children’s needs for which the service provides care; how the service promotes positive male role models in a predominantly female team; and details of all staff’s qualifications. This prevents the service regulator and commissioners of the

p.6

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

service from obtaining an accurate overview of the home.

p.7

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

Although the home provides a safe living environment for the child, the appearance and maintenance of the home can improve. Some minor repair work is outstanding, such as a broken gate in the front garden, a broken kitchen drawer and the hall floor needs some repair. Furthermore, the redecoration of the communal areas would make the home feel more welcoming and homely.

p.7

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

Although there are systems in place for regular monitoring of the home, the internal and external monitoring is weak. The relevant legislation and guidance do not underpin the manager’s quality of care review, and the review lacks evaluation of her findings. Additionally, the monitoring carried out by the independent visitor can improve by increasing consultation with parents and all professionals involved in the children’s lives. This would enable the registered manager to include important people’s views on the development of the service.

p.7

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.

p.7

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: SC397987 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Fairfield Residential Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 59 Warburton Lane, Partington, Manchester, Lancashire M31 4NL

p.8

Inspector

Marina Tully, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9