Children's Home run by Quality Protects Children Ltd in Sheffield

Inspection report children’s home: SC066010 1 SC066010 Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited Interim 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 provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children or young people who may have complex needs, including emotional and behavioural difficulties, and who may present with challenging behaviour. The staff team works with children and young people who have displayed high-risk behaviours and who may have experienced significant traumas in their lives. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness. Overall, the experiences that children and young people have and the progress that they make remain good. Children and young people have access to a wide range of activities, which they are supported to attend. These activities, such as going to the gym, using the boxing equipment, playing pool, using the games console, playing board games or riding their bikes, allow the children and young people to fill their time constructively. In addition, the home has purchased two go-karts which the children and young people maintain in the external garage and will race at a track. This activity can only be completed once the children and young people have finished the appropriate safety training and if they have engaged with their education. Inspection report children’s home: SC066010 2

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Not all children and young people are engaging with their education. Tutored sessions are offered where appropriate but participation by children and young people is not regular. Reintegration plans to help children and young people back into school are in place. However, the staff team is struggling to progress these due to a lack of engagement by children and young people. The staff are consulting with the provider’s psychologist and this may provide strategies for support. Where there is no school placement on offer, staff are working with the virtual school to source an alternative provision. All three of the children and young people currently living in the home have been admitted since the last inspection. The transitions for children and young people moving into the home have been well planned, even when requests to admit have had some urgency. Positively, the manager confirmed the autonomy he has when considering any

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

new referral. In cooperation with the responsible individual, decisions around new placements are based on whether the new child or young person’s needs can be met and how well they will integrate with the current cohort of residents. This leads to placements that are sustained for as long as necessary. Transitions from the home are also positive. One young person chose not to return from a visit to their family. The manager and staff worked with the placing authority to ensure that the young person was safe, while planning a strategy to equip him to leave the home effectively. This included working with him while he remained with his family. This was a positive outcome for the young person. The staff know the children and young people very well and have built trusting relationships. They understand risks in the community and know how to keep children and young people safe. Over the last few months, there have been a very low number of

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

incidents, all of which have been managed appropriately. Staff have acted when there have been risks posed by others in the community and engaged other professionals to investigate and take action to reduce risks. Generally, children and young people are healthy, and staff use key-work sessions to promote reducing smoking. Smoking in the house has reduced but is still evident. Steps taken to ensure that children and young people respect their own environment by keeping it clean and tidy are not always effective. Staff must work with children and young people so that they understand the importance of being able to care for themselves. Mandatory training is up to date and the staff also take part in ad hoc training when necessary to meet the needs of an individual child or young person, or to gain additional knowledge about a particular subject. Staff have received online training for gang and youth violence. Knowledge of gang culture is relevant for this home, based on the

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

current group of children and young people. In addition, there are some historical concerns around county lines and the staff team will benefit from their training, which is now being expanded to cover this area of risk. The home is currently undergoing some redecoration. There has been some damage caused in the office and this must be appropriately repaired and redecorated in a timely manner. Outside the home, the fence panels in the rear garden are broken or blown over. This leaves the border of the property insecure and the fence should be repaired. Monitoring of the home is appropriate. The independent visitor attends regularly, and Inspection report children’s home: SC066010 3 the manager reports a good relationship which lends itself to appropriate challenge and discussion about the home. The manager has submitted the latest report on the quality of care, but it was late. The requirement from the last inspection has been met and the recommendation has

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection

29/05/2018 Full Good 19/06/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/09/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 11/04/2016 Full Good

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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, the 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.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

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; 07/04/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC066010 4 understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all children and young people have an education placement and that they are supported to attend and engage with education. When children and young people do not have a placement, work quickly to source another placement. As an interim measure, ensure that the home is able to ensure that the child or young person’s day is structured in such a way so that informal learning is available. 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—

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that training is expanded to cover concerns around county lines, linked to children and young people’s known historical risks. 07/04/2019

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— 07/04/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC066010 5 understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6(1)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the decoration of the home is completed, including repairing and decorating the damage caused in the office. In addition, ensure that boundary fencing is made secure or repaired where appropriate.

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Recommendations

 Many children placed in homes may undergo a difficult transition and what should be simple aspects of their care take on a substantial significance in this context. Staff should provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming, supportive, and which provides appropriate boundaries in relation to their behaviour. Homes must also meet children’s basic day to day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) In particular, ensure that children and young people are supported to keep their own spaces clean and tidy. Regular room

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Recommendations

checks that take place to establish whether children and young people have completed tasks in relation to their room must also include an element of supporting children and young people to live in a clean space.  Regulation 45 sets out requirements for the registered person to have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in the regulation at least once every six months; also see regulation 13(2)(h) (the leadership and management standard). The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and Inspection report children’s home: SC066010 6 improvements for the children. Reviews should be underpinned by the Quality Standards as described in regulations 5 to 14. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2) In

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Recommendations

particular, ensure that the quality of care review is submitted in a timely manner.

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: SC066010 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hill House, Archway Road, Huyton, Liverpool L36 9XB

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Inspector:

Mark Broomhead: social care regulatory inspection manager Inspection report children’s home: SC066010 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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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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

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