Children's Home run by Nurture Me Psychological Services Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children‟s home: 1270298 1 Registered provider: Nurture Me Psychological Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children‟s home for up to four young people who have a learning disability or emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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 since registration in May 2018

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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

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Recent inspection history

This is the home‟s first inspection. Inspection report children‟s home: 1270298 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered 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 to—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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

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ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)) 11/11/2018

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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 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 that arrangements are in place to manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child‟s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(ii)(iii)) 11/110/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and 11/11/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1270298 3 notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 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—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 11/11/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1270298 4

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improvement to be good

This is the home‟s first inspection since registration in May 2018.

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improvement to be good

Young people live in a home that has suffered from a period of instability. Several changes in staff since the home‟s registration, and an over-reliance on non-permanent staff, mean that young people have experienced variable and inconsistent care. This has negatively affected support given to young people and contributed to two unplanned placement moves for young people from the home. However, a young person who is new to the home has settled well. Although the placement is in its infancy, there are signs that he is engaging with staff and starting to develop his sense of belonging. The young person told the inspector, „The staff here are great. They are all nice and kind.‟

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improvement to be good

Young people have clearly defined health plans, and young people are registered with the relevant primary healthcare services. They have access to specialist, therapeutic input provided by the organisation operating the home. There are also good links with specialist health services such as mental health services. This means that young people receive specialist input that is tailored to meet their individual needs. Appropriate arrangements are established for the safe management of medicines to promote the safety and well-being of young people.

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improvement to be good

The home works closely with schools and training providers to ensure that young people can derive the maximum benefit from education. When there are difficulties in locating education provision, the manager liaises with the virtual head and other professionals to resolve them speedily.

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improvement to be good

Young people are supported by the staff in maintaining contact with their families. The staff assist with transport and, where required, the supervision of family contact. This ensures that the young people continue to build relationships and emotional attachments with those significant to them.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand policies and procedures in relation to safeguarding. Social workers confirm that staff keep young people safe. A social worker reported, „It is clear that whilst staff allow [name] time alone to reflect, he feels safe and knows that support is available to him when he desires.‟

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improvement to be good

Young people‟s care plans include a range of risk assessments which identify their specific needs and how staff should best manage these. Staff support young people with some complex and high-risk behaviours. This enables young people to participate in activities and events outside of the home. Inspection report children‟s home: 1270298 5 The use of non-permanent staff undermines the quality of safeguarding practices in the home. For example, non-permanent members of staff have engaged in physical restraints with young people, even though none of the non-permanent staff were trained in the technique that is used in the home. The use of differing techniques puts young people at potential risk of injury. Furthermore, records of restraint do not always capture the details that lead up to an incident. This absence of detail denies staff, and the young people, the opportunity to reflect and learn from situations. Furthermore, it does not

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improvement to be good

support management oversight of incidents

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improvement to be good

The home provides a safe environment for young people to live in. A range of health and safety checks are completed to assess whether there are any hazards which could pose a risk to young people. Young people and staff take part in regular fire drills to ensure that they know how to safely evacuate the home in the case of an emergency.

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improvement to be good

The staff recruitment and selection processes are thorough. These processes make sure that only suitable people are employed to care for young people who live at the home.

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

The home has an appropriately qualified registered manager in place. The manager has been in post since the home opened in May 2018 and holds a diploma in leadership, health and social care at level 5.

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

Staffing levels are not sufficient to safeguard staff and young people. For example, on the first day of inspection, there was only one staff member on shift who was out with a young person. Furthermore, there was no contingency plan in place in case of emergency. This means that staff lack the capacity to care for young people safely and effectively.

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

Records do not demonstrate that all staff have undertaken sufficient training to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of young people. For example, training records do not show that all staff have completed medication or safeguarding training. This means that staff are not fully equipped to recognise and care for young people who require support in these areas.

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

All of the staff have either a minimum of a qualification at level 3 in residential childcare or are due to complete their course within regulatory timescales.

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

The statement of purpose clearly sets out what services the home has to offer. However, the manager has not sent Ofsted a copy of the document and any subsequent revisions. This means that Ofsted has not been made aware of any changes to the home‟s offer of service.

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

The manager has formed positive relationships with a range of agencies, including social workers and health and education professionals. A youth offending service officer reported, „Communication between care staff and myself has been effective. I have received weekly progress updates, as well as being fully updated with all health input Inspection report children‟s home: 1270298 6 implementation and issues that have arisen within the home promptly after the event.‟ This collaborative approach means that young people are better protected and have greater access to resources.

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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: 1270298 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurture Me Psychological Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 58 High Street, Madeley, Telford, Shropshire TF7 5AT

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Inspector

Dave Carrigan, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1270298 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 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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