Children's home run by Lifetime Opportunities Limited in Bolton

Inspection report children‟s home: SC060750 1 SC060750 Registered provider: Lifetime Opportunities 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

The home is run by a privately owned company and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children or young people who have a learning disability.

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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: 22 November 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC060750 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/11/2017 Full Outstanding 02/01/2017 Interim Not judged 26/07/2016 Full Outstanding 10/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC060750 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to achieve the child‟s education and training targets, as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans; support each child‟s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study; help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(viii)) 16/11/2018

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— 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; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iv)) 16/11/2018

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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 children‟s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 16/11/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC060750 4 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(d)(h))

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 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 in the home‟s statement of purpose; that arrangements are in place to— manage and review the placement of each child in the home; that the child‟s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child‟s relevant plans is requested, if— the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child‟s needs. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(2)(a)(b)(ii)(e)(i)) 16/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

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— the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; 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 16/11/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC060750 5 has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 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-viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— the quality of care provided for children; the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). The registered person must— supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report

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Requirement Due date

within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)) 16/11/2018

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Recommendations

 A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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Recommendations

 The use of external agency staff can be a positive choice to complement the skills and experiences of the permanent workforce. Any external agency staff should meet the requirements in regulation 32(4) regarding mandatory qualifications and the registered person should consider their skills, qualifications and any induction necessary before they commence work in the home. The use of agency staff should be carefully monitored and reviewed to ensure children receive continuity of care. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 54, paragraph 10.16) Inspection report children‟s home: SC060750 6  Ensure that all children‟s case records are kept up to date. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Recommendations

 Staff should understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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improvement to be good

One young person has made outstanding progress. He has experienced significant improvements in his health and general well-being. Staff have worked closely with healthcare professionals to support the young person to increase his mobility and speech. When he was admitted to the home, the young person had not been able to take his food orally for several years. He is now taking all his meals orally, which has resulted in a healthy weight gain and improved his quality of life.

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improvement to be good

The other young person who lives at the home has not made positive progress. This young person is currently out of education and does not have a placement identified. The registered manager has raised the matter with the young person‟s placing authority, but after several weeks the young person is still without education provision. The home has not developed a timetable to support the young person‟s learning while he is out of formal education.

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improvement to be good

Some aspects of young people‟s internal care plans do not reflect their current needs or circumstances. For example, one young person‟s care plan states that he is currently in full-time education, which is not the case. This young person‟s care plan does not address current concerns in relation to his daily routines. As a result, some staff are not clear on how best to support him on a daily basis. This means he may not receive care and support that meet his needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that young people are supported to maintain contact with people who are important to them. One young person has been helped to re-establish regular contact with a family member he had not seen for some time. Supporting young people to maintain important relationships promotes their emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

There are examples of good collaborative working, which have helped to support one young person‟s significant progress. However, joint working has not been as effective for the other young person. For example, two separate professionals have recommended that visual timetables be implemented to support the young person, but staff have not followed these recommendations through. The registered manager has raised concerns regarding the young person‟s progress with his social worker, but there have been no Inspection report children‟s home: SC060750 7 formal discussions about how the young person‟s care should be reviewed to meet his changing needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff receive safeguarding training and are clear about their role and responsibility in keeping young people safe from harm. As a result, any safeguarding concerns are promptly responded to.

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improvement to be good

Risks to the safety and well-being of young people are not always clearly identified. For example, in some cases risks are identified but agreed strategies to manage risks are not consistently followed. In addition, some risk assessments have not been updated to reflect new information, which means staff may not have the necessary guidance to maintain young people‟s safety.

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improvement to be good

There have been some incidents of bullying. However, these have not been recorded in a manner that enables the registered manager to carefully monitor such incidents or identify patterns. In addition, records of one-to-one work do not reflect that any meaningful discussion about bullying has taken place with either young person. However, in discussions with staff, it is apparent that they are aware of these risks and remain mindful when supporting the young people.

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improvement to be good

Young people have individual behaviour support plans, which describe known behaviours and agreed strategies. Incidents of restraint are recorded. However, there are significant shortfalls in the quality of these records. Some lack sufficient detail and fail to provide a clear account of what has occurred. Debriefings for staff and young people are inconsistent, and in several cases there is no evidence that a debrief has taken place.

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improvement to be good

Sanctions are not consistently recorded. Many of those that are recorded are unclear about the reason a sanction was given or what the sanction was. In addition, sanctions are not sufficiently monitored and there is often no exploration as to their effectiveness. There are also examples where sanctions have been recorded as being monitored by the staff member who issued them.

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improvement to be good

Young people are provided with well-maintained accommodation. There are processes in place to monitor safety, which helps to ensure that the home and facilities are safe and fit for purpose. Thorough recruitment procedures are in place which require prospective employees to undergo a range of background checks. These help to ensure that young people receive their care from staff of suitable character.

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

There is a suitably qualified and experienced manager in place who also has responsibility for another home, which is located close by. The registered manager was not present during the inspection as she was on annual leave. Inspection report children‟s home: SC060750 8 The organisation has experienced some ongoing difficulties with the recruitment of staff. Action has been taken to address the situation, and several new staff have been appointed. However, rotas demonstrate that staffing arrangements have not always been consistent with young people‟s needs or their risk assessments. During the inspection, it was confirmed that one young person missed an evening activity due to staffing levels being reduced for the evening.

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

Staff are provided with a comprehensive induction and ongoing training to support them in their role. One new staff member was highly complimentary about the quality of her induction and described several training courses, as well as a good level of support and guidance.

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

Processes to monitor staff training require improvement to ensure they are effective. A record indicated that one agency worker‟s safeguarding and moving and handling training had expired. In another example, there was no evidence to demonstrate that a staff member had completed physical intervention training, despite her being involved in a recent restraint.

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

The quality of recording is variable and, in some instances, requires improvement. Staff were unable to provide several documents requested during the inspection. These included minutes from one young person‟s recent review and his EHC plan.

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

There are ongoing concerns with regards to the behaviour of one young person towards the other. An impact risk assessment was not available to demonstrate that careful consideration had been given to the needs of the most recently admitted young person before offering him a place. Furthermore, there was no evidence to demonstrate that the compatibility of the newly admitted young person and the young person already resident had been given thorough consideration.

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

Rotas demonstrate that the registered manager has frequently covered care shifts over recent months. Consequently, she has not had sufficient time to monitor standards across the home effectively. Shortfalls highlighted at this inspection have not been identified sooner, which has led to a decline in progress since the last inspection. Effective quality assurance processes are necessary to support the home‟s ongoing improvement.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC060750 9 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: SC060750 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lifetime Opportunities Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Windsor House, Bayshill Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3AT

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Inspector

Marie Cordingley, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC060750 11 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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