Children's Home run by Halton Borough Council in Halton

Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 1 SC039559 Registered provider: Halton Borough Council

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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 registered to provide short breaks for up to four children who may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities and sensory impairment. It is managed by a local authority and provides a service for children from other local authorities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered at the home since 2007.

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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: 28 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2017 Full Good 21/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 2 16/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 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 registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23(1)(2)(b)(c)) 07/03/2018

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Recommendations

 Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  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 (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7). In particular, that repairs and redecoration in the home and in the garden play area are completed.

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 4 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Careful consideration is given to all admissions and planning, to ensure that children fully benefit from their short breaks. Staff meet young people in familiar surroundings, such as school, where they can assess their needs. Staff respond creatively to their observations so that, for example, specific activities can be devised for each child when they visit. This means that their behaviour can be positively diverted and is less likely to impact on others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children visit for tea before starting overnight stays, so that they can familiarise themselves with the surroundings and get to know staff. The service now opens for an additional night each fortnight to facilitate this introduction. This helps staff to assess the compatibility of new admissions with others already using the service, and assists with the planning of overnight stays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a range of activities, both at the home and in the community, which they choose in children’s meetings and key-work sessions. Some attend events at the cinema and swimming pools, designed to support specific needs such as autism. Some children have experienced a holiday for the first time. Short breaks therefore offer children life and social experiences that they may not be able to access easily with their families. One child’s parent said, ‘The best recommendation I can give [the home] is that [the child] asks to come the Saturday before [the planned visit].’ The parent also said that his child ‘loves [key worker]’. He recognised that the work done by the staff means that his child is also calmer and more tolerant at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Specific targets are agreed with parents, to help children increase their independence. Targets are broken down into small stages, so that progress can be measured and celebrated. If a child is struggling, staff discuss an alternative target with parents. Social workers who visit the home review children’s target progress. One said, ‘I usually have a look in [child’s] book, which is a good record of where she is up to in achieving her goals. I am aware that she is making progress in her current goal, but I am particularly pleased that she is walking more and not depending on using her wheelchair while there.’ Another said that the staff ‘go outside the box’, for example by encouraging one child to try a broader diet, that helps him when at home with his parents. This demonstrates that staff promote development and independence holistically.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know and understand children’s preferences. Children interact well with staff, clearly enjoying favourite activities such as the sensory room, musical mats, and singing. Some children enjoy using the ‘safe space’ as a play or quiet area, with parental permission. This area remains open so that children are not restricted. Staff understand children’s communication styles and therefore were able to assist the inspector in understanding what children were asking her. Children have warm and trusting relationships with staff. Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 5 Staff attend meetings so that they know about available resources in the local area and are able to recognise the progress that children make across their lives. They are also involved in children’s transitions to adult services so that they can support these to be positive and help reduce children’s anxieties. Key workers produce regular reports so

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

that parents and other professionals can understand the progress children make because of their short breaks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good partnership working with families and other professionals is evident. Parents are regularly consulted in reviewing their children’s progress, both individually and at parents’ days. At the last event, the home gained enough feedback to progress a plan to create a parents’ group. This will enable staff to share information about services in the local area that may be helpful to parents and their children.

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

Staff have a thorough understanding of children’s disabilities and complex health needs. Assessments are requested, for example from occupational therapists, in order that specific equipment can be accessed for children to ensure that they are cared for safely. Children’s dignity is respected in personal care. New integrated blinds are being installed in bedrooms to safely preserve their privacy. Individualised plans and appropriately high levels of supervision mean that children enjoy their short breaks because they are kept safe and protected.

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

Staff are skilled in managing behaviour positively, for example by diverting children to alternative activities to prevent them from becoming upset. This means that there has been no need to use physical intervention since the last inspection. However, not all records include information for the reader to easily cross-refer to other documents, such as when a child tries to harm another. This means that it is difficult to confirm whether a body map was completed for the injured child and what further action staff took.

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

Staff work in partnership with parents as well as education, health and social care professionals to ensure that strategies are helpful and consistent. This supports positive behaviour and means that children are helped to manage anxieties and reduce unwanted or unsafe behaviours. Children are helped to improve their communication and social skills so that they enjoy more positive participation in their world. They respond well to the regular and plentiful praise for their achievements, which are recorded in photographs and certificates.

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

The manager ensures that staff receive high-quality safeguarding training that is relevant to the vulnerabilities of the children they care for. Refresher training for safeguarding children who have disabilities is identified in the development plan for the spring. Staff have a good understanding of signs of concern, discomfort or distress and alert appropriate professionals so that any resulting assessments can better support children and families. Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 6 Many children receive prescribed medication during their stays. Staff ensure that they have explicit consent from medical professionals if a medicine is administered covertly. Managers have reviewed administration procedures since the last inspection, after identifying significant shortfalls. On one occasion, a child was given medication that was not prescribed for them. Swift and appropriate action was taken. A referral was made to

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

the designated officer and disciplinary action was taken regarding the staff concerned. The designated officer is confident that the new procedures enabled swift identification of a further medication error, which is currently under investigation. Although all staff received refresher training after the first incident, the manager has commissioned further training as well as regular external assessment of competency. More robust procedures and greater management oversight help to safeguard children from the risk of errors in the administration of medicines.

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

During the inspection, an essential form with prescription information was missing from a child’s file. Staff sought to rectify the error immediately and the parent was able to sign the replacement form while visiting the home.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. There are clear plans in place for staff to follow if a child leaves the home. These plans include up-to-date information and photographs. There are also individual plans to ensure that, in an emergency, children can be evacuated safely, and regular fire drills take place so that they know how staff will help them to leave the building. This shows that staff take a proactive approach to protecting children from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced manager and assistant manager form a strong partnership in leading the home. The staff team shares the management team’s commitment and motivation to provide high-quality care for all children visiting for short breaks. Staff reported that they feel very well-supported both through regular, reflective supervision and the open-door management approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision provides the manager with an opportunity to review children’s files with staff, to ensure that they are up to date and that plans are meeting children’s needs. This also enables her to assess performance and offer support to improve staff practice. Staff feel confident about reporting any concerns they have, demonstrating their commitment to promoting good practice. In addition, the manager feels well supported by senior managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff access regular, good-quality training that meets the complex needs of children, including their health needs. The manager will challenge if she feels that training is not of sufficient quality and will commission alternatives where necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel able to make suggestions for improving the service. For example, one member of the team is leading work to improve ‘All About Me’ documents to make them more inclusive of children’s input. Staff have reflected that children’s journeys and progress, in Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 7 addition to their set targets, can be better recorded and are making relevant changes to documents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are regular, and the manager invites external agencies to share their knowledge with the team. Meetings also allow staff to reflect on external monitoring of the home and, as a result, staff have implemented helpful recommendations for improving the experiences and recording of progress that children make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has made several improvements in response to requirements and recommendations from the last inspection. All staff now receive regular supervision. Plans better reflect children’s progress and are more organised, and there is evidence of regular audit by managers. The development plan cross-refers to staff supervision, so that the manager can easily identify training needs and performance issues. Internal monitoring is therefore more robust and helpful in driving improvements in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Any maintenance or repairs are identified, including some redecoration of bedrooms and an outdoor surface which currently cannot be used safely. These need to be addressed to ensure that children enjoy a well-maintained home and access to all play areas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is now a matrix that tracks children’s attendance at meetings where they can express their views and wishes regarding the home and what they would like to do. For some children, individual consultation through key-work sessions is more appropriate. However, this is not yet consistent enough to capture the views of all children who visit the home and what they would like to do during their short breaks.

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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: SC039559 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Halton Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3rd Floor Rutland House, Halton Lea, Runcorn WA7 2GW

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Inspector

Karen Willson: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC039559 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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