Children's home run by Halliwell Homes Limited in Staffordshire Moorlands

Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 1 SC043697 Registered provider: Halliwell Homes 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 private children’s home registered for up to seven children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home offers education on site at a registered school.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2018.

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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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers 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: 27 February 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2018 Full Good 13/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/10/2016 Full Good 28/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 3

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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. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph

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Recommendations

9.30)  Regulation 19(2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be 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 to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph

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Recommendations

10.11)  As set out in regulations 31−33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  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 staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4) Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A number of children have moved into and left the home since the last inspection. Two children have successfully moved on to foster placements, while others have moved to placements that are more suitable for their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from good-quality care and support. They make progress from their initial starting points and have a range of positive experiences. Children build trusting relationships with staff who know them well and promote their welfare. Children respond well to the structure, clear boundaries and routines of the home. Over time, this enables most children to develop a sense of permanence and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are healthy and access services appropriate to their individual needs. Positive working relationships with specialist services, including the child and adolescent mental health teams, ensure that the emotional health needs of children are well supported. A clinician from the organisation’s own clinical team provides monthly consultations to assist the staff in managing children’s emotional and behavioural needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value diversity and provide children with the opportunity to explore their own sense of identity. Consequently, children experience care that is sensitive to their gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. A placing social worker commented, ‘The home has been really supporting [X] to be who they want to be.’ This increases children’s self- confidence and feelings of security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are attending school and engage well. One child moved to mainstream high school in September 2018 and has managed this well. Staff actively support children’s learning and development. For example, they help with homework and encourage children to read. Children benefit from living in an environment where their education is valued and promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities that reflect their interests and talents. For example, one child regularly takes part in archery and recently won an award for this. Another child frequently goes horse riding, and others go to Brownies, gymnastics, swimming and arts and craft club. Staff encourage children to try new and stimulating activities that help them to learn new skills and have fun.

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

Individual risk assessments and behaviour management plans reflect the current risks for individual children and clearly outline the measures in place to help reduce presenting risks. These documents are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that children’s welfare and safety are protected.

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

Safeguarding concerns are effectively managed and any issues are reported to the appropriate authorities. Complaints are responded to promptly and investigated Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 5 thoroughly. The home keeps a clear record of any complaints and any action taken to deal with them. Work has been completed with the children to help them understand the impact of bullying and assist them to get along better.

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

Staff follow clear protocols and procedures when children go missing from the home to ensure their safe return. On their return, the police undertake a ‘safe and well’ interview. However, clarification is needed from placing authorities as to who should complete the return home interviews.

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

Overall, children receive good help and support to manage their behaviour. Records show that, since the last inspection, there has been a steady decline in the number of physical interventions used in the home. Sanctions in the main are fair and followed up with discussion with each child. However, clarity is needed on the use of ‘time-out’ arrangements. Records indicate that this strategy has been used on two occasions, and the registered manager confirmed that this is not an agreed behaviour management strategy.

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

Currently, all recruitment checks are carried out at the organisation’s human resources department. Staff personnel files kept in the home contain a checklist that shows what recruitment checks have been completed. However, it would be good practice for the registered manager to verify these checks to ensure that a person is suitable to work in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was registered with Ofsted in June 2018. She has a good knowledge and experience of the home from her previous role as the deputy manager. The registered manager has high expectations about what all children can achieve. She is supported by two seniors, who share her commitment to delivering high-quality childcare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from good staffing levels. Staff practice is strengthened by staff supervision and team meetings. A member of staff said, ‘[Name of manager] is an amazing manager. She is there when you need it. She does work really hard.’ That said, the registered manager does not have a record of her supervision sessions to demonstrate that she is receiving regular practice-led supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is adequately resourced and meets the aims and objectives of the statement of purpose. At present, half of the staff team hold a relevant childcare qualification. Four staff are working towards the level 3 qualification, and two staff who are currently working through their probationary period will commence the level 3 training once they have completed their probation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to good development opportunities. For example, one member of staff has completed a forensic psychology course, and five staff, including the registered manager, are undertaking the level 5 management qualification. This ensures that staff feel valued, and staff morale is high. However, there are some shortfalls in other areas of staff training, including training in first aid, medication and understanding harmful Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 6 sexual behaviour. There is a programme in place to address these areas of training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and takes positive action to address any shortfalls. There is regular monitoring of the home both internally and externally to ensure that outcomes for children continue to improve. The registered manager has addressed the requirements and most of the recommendations made at the last inspection. The registered manager is using incident data analysis to break down the number of incidents and physical interventions every month. She then uses this information to identify any patterns or trends.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Improvements have been made to the children’s records to ensure that they clearly reflect the voice of the child. A recommendation to improve the home environment is partially met. Work has been done to improve the lounge and ‘chill’ area with the addition of photographs and soft furnishings. Children’s bedrooms have been personalised to reflect their own tastes and personalities. However, the hall and landing carpets are very heavily stained, there is some damage to the front door frame and the side gate between the home and school is damaged.

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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: SC043697 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Halliwell Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Tape Street, Stoke-on-Trent ST10 1BB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Karen Mitchell-Mellor

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Inspectors

Michelle Bacon, social care inspector Paul Robinson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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