Children's Home run by iMap Centre Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report children‘s home: SC481295 1 SC481295 Registered provider: Imap Centre 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 children‘s home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people who have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities. The home is also able to provide care for young adults as they transition to adulthood.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2014.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‘s home: SC481295 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/06/2018 Full Good 08/06/2017 Full Good 05/01/2017 Full Good 28/09/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‘s home: SC481295 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 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

that the home‘s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there are effective risk management plans in place, based on assessment of presenting individual risks, in relation to young people on admission to the home. 24/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

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

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

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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 used and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(c)) 24/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (―case records‖) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in 24/05/2019 Inspection report children‘s home: SC481295 4 relation to each child. (Regulation 36(1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to the plans or reports relating to the child prepared by the child‘s placing authority, including the placement plan, that are specific to the child‘s current placement. The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39(3)) 24/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about the visit (―the independent person‘s report‖) which sets out, in particular, the independent person‘s opinion as the whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children‘s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person‘s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44(4)(a)(b)(5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the independent person‘s report and recommendations should be evaluative and support the registered person‘s understanding of any shortfalls to ensure compliance with regulations. 24/05/2019

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the registered person actively seeks independent scrutiny of the home and makes best use of the information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learnt and sustaining good practice. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Specifically, the quality of care review report produced under regulation 45 should be evaluative and consider the views of all stakeholders to drive continuous improvement.  The registered person must challenge (under regulation 5(c)) any placing authority who asks them to accept a child in the absence of a complete and current relevant plan, as the expectation that a placement of a child without the necessary information would go ahead (in circumstances other than an emergency) is inadequate in relation to their role. It is essential that homes

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Recommendations

understand what will be required of them before they accept responsibility for a child‘s placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child in future and for Inspection report children‘s home: SC481295 5 other children in the home. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 56, paragraph 11.5)  Staff should be familiar with the home‘s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that is helpful to the child. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 62, paragraph 14.4) This refers to records being able to demonstrate the child‘s journey in a format that young people will find accessible and easy to follow.  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 supervision and

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Recommendations

staff member to have a copy of the record. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home‘s location and strategies for managing these. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 64, paragraph 15.1) The registered person should review and consider potential risks in the local area, prior to a young person‘s admission, taking into account their individual circumstances and needs.  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraph 19 and 20) The plan should: – detail the necessary management and staffing structure, (including any staff

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Recommendations

commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home‘s Statement of Purpose; – detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications); – detail the process for managing and improving poor performance; – detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33(4)(b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home‘s manager. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality

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Recommendations

standards‘, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person must ensure that staff have the relevant skills and Inspection report children‘s home: SC481295 6 knowledge to be able to: respond to the health needs of children; administer basic first aid and minor illness treatment; help children to manage long-term conditions and where necessary meet specific individual health needs arising from a disability, chronic condition or other complex needs. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 34, paragraph 7.12) This refers to all staff receiving appropriate training to support young people‘s specific needs such as those associated with conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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improvement to be good

Two young people have been admitted to the home without all of their relevant plans being provided by their placing authority. Neither young person has a placement plan, and their care plans are not current. Some documents provided contain contradictory information. This makes it difficult to understand what progress young people are making from their starting points, or what the placing authority expects the placement to achieve. However, the home did gather additional information, for example from previous carers, as part of well-organised transitions to the home. Nevertheless, managers need to challenge placing authorities to provide essential information so that they can demonstrate how the home plans for and supports young people to reach their potential.

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improvement to be good

Young people are attending the provider‘s school. One young person is not yet attending full time, but continues to make steady improvement towards this goal. Another young person is attending positively, after a significant length of time out of education. Young people are clearly encouraged and supported to achieve their potential and to have aspirations for their futures.

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improvement to be good

The staff have diligently cared for a young person who has complex health needs, working very closely with medical professionals and following their advice. The staff have been strong advocates, for example when it has been necessary to seek second opinions about care and treatment options. During hospital stays, the staff have maintained a constant presence to promote the young person‘s recovery and to offer reassurance. The staff team has also supported a positive transition to adult provision, at the young person‘s pace. Visits and social stories have helped to familiarise the young person with their new environment and the staff have worked alongside the new carers to promote the new carers‘ understanding of the young person‘s subtle forms of communication.

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improvement to be good

Young people have individual targets to promote their independence. These are tracked monthly so that even the smallest steps are recognised. One young person is currently learning about his medication so that he will understand how it helps him and the importance of keeping a good medication routine, to optimise his well-being in the Inspection report children‘s home: SC481295 7 future. Staff ensure that he attends appointments so that there is continued oversight by the child and adolescent mental health services team.

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improvement to be good

Staff carefully carry out research and make plans so that young people can access services to meet their cultural needs, particularly if they are not locally available. Young people visit different options so that they can make their own informed choices. They are encouraged to cook meals to share their cultural heritage. Staff recognise the subtler cultural differences for young people moving from one area of the country to another, and one young person humorously shared with the inspector how staff use names for mealtimes that differ from those that are used where he is from.

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improvement to be good

Young people are encouraged to enjoy new experiences that enrich their lives and they are consulted and encouraged to participate in designing their environment at the home. One young person described how he will be involved in creating a ‗chill-out‘ space in the garden. Young people also enjoy quality time away from the home, such as having a holiday to Center Parcs.

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improvement to be good

Young people see people who are important to them. Staff have helped to reinstate positive relationships between young people and their families, which supports young people‘s sense of identity.

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improvement to be good

Records reflect young people‘s daily lived experiences. However, some plans direct the reader to different locations to get all of the information they need about young people, for example, regarding their health progress. This makes it difficult for young people to understand their journeys, progress and experience of their time living in the home.

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improvement to be good

The home has introduced new approaches to recording information, including very detailed and comprehensive risk assessments and behaviour management plans. However, one young person‘s plans do not fully correlate with each other. For example, strategies for addressing a concern are outlined in a behaviour management plan, but the concern is not identified in the corresponding section of the risk assessment. Colour- coded ratings also appear to differ across the plans, which may confuse the reader. The provider recognises that it would be helpful to provide staff with summarised versions of these plans for day-to-day use, to complement guidance in the young people‘s daily logbooks.

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improvement to be good

A young person recently moved to the home. An impact risk assessment was completed to consider how this admission might affect other young people and how any concerns would be mitigated. However, the local area assessment was not used to identify potential hazards to the young person‘s well-being, given this young person‘s presenting vulnerabilities. Risk assessments and behaviour management plans are still being formulated for this young person. However, there is little information on file to guide staff in the interim. Staff showed awareness of key concerns, but no one identified a Inspection report children‘s home: SC481295 8 potential risk that was evident in the placing authority‘s care plan. This oversight had the potential to compromise the safety of everyone at the home.

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improvement to be good

High levels of support and supervision mean that young people do not go missing from the home and are protected from associated risks. However, staff recognise that young people need to be supported to take risks, appropriate to their age and understanding, as part of their development. Careful planning means that some young people enjoy independent time out of the home, such as going to the gym or local shop.

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improvement to be good

Young people and staff have recently experienced an extremely challenging time at the home. One young person was in crisis due to deteriorating mental health. Staff showed exceptional resilience and commitment, working well to protect all young people. Senior managers worked alongside the staff to support them through this difficult time. They persistently advocated for the young person, and challenged the placing authority to find a placement that would better meet the young person‘s emerging needs and safeguard all concerned.

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improvement to be good

Two young people voiced their concerns about what was happening in the home. Their views were listened to, and they were encouraged to write letters to the manager. However, these were not recorded as complaints and there are no written records of how they were addressed. The departure of the young person who was experiencing a crisis resolved their concerns. A young person at the home told the inspector that he felt staff listened to and supported him throughout this difficult time.

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improvement to be good

There are occasions when staff need to use physical intervention to keep young people and others safe. Records still do not comply with the regulation. Therefore, the requirement from the last inspection is repeated. Debriefs do not appear to have occurred after every occasion when a restraint has taken place, and not all incidents have been fully evaluated. This limits the potential to reflect on practice. The debrief form indicates that it can be used with young people, but is not in an appropriate format. Managers recognise this and will use an alternative approach to offer young people the opportunity to record their views if they wish to do so.

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improvement to be good

Any allegations about staff conduct are reported to the designated officer and investigated appropriately to ensure that young people are kept safe. Safer recruitment checks are completed so that no unsuitable individuals work at the home.

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

An experienced registered manager runs the home. In his current absence, the deputy manager, who is also very experienced, fulfils the management role. Managers lead a knowledgeable and dedicated team of staff who hold the young people at the centre of their practice. Staff who are not yet qualified are either completing or are to be enrolled on a course that will give them a suitable qualification.

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

Staff said they felt very well supported through recent challenges. They confirmed that Inspection report children‘s home: SC481295 9 managers and senior managers regularly updated them and offered support. Senior managers also worked shifts and ensured that staff did not work excessive hours. This approach maintained a consistent team of familiar staff to avoid the use of agency workers.

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

While staff were supporting a young person in the hospital, and also another young person who was in crisis, it was difficult to coordinate formal meetings for the whole team or complete individual supervisions. Therefore, small group supervision meetings took place, for example at handovers. Unfortunately, the support and discussions that took place under these temporary arrangements were not recorded. The whole team is currently focused on creating stability for young people, before taking the opportunity to reflect on and learn from recent experiences collectively.

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

The home does not have a workforce development plan. This oversight is a missed opportunity to identify and monitor the team‘s development needs to fulfil the home‘s statement of purpose. Staff recognise gaps in their skills sets and have requested training so that they can meet the specific needs of a young person with greater confidence. Managers are currently arranging specialist training in response; however, this might have been anticipated and delivered before the young person‘s admission.

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

Managers make use of online monthly monitoring tools to track the home‘s performance and young people‘s progress. However, the review of the quality of care report does not yet provide robust analysis and evaluation, nor does it fully consider the opinions of young people and other stakeholders. This means that it does not clearly identify what the home does well, and does not identify emerging trends or areas for improvement. A new report format is being introduced to more comprehensively support the manager‘s understanding and to drive continuous improvement in the home.

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

Independent monitoring needs to improve to be more critically evaluative. Some reports have contained contradictory information, and opportunities to alert the manager that the home is not complying with regulations have been missed.

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

There are well-established working relationships with a range of professionals, including the local police. Professionals expressed their satisfaction with the proactive approach taken by the home. One said, ‗They have done an amazing job with [name of the young person]. They manage [name of the young person‘s] behaviours well and really understand and know [name of the young person].‘

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

Managers have a clear understanding of the shortfalls identified in the inspection and recognise a combination of contributory factors. They have indicated how they intend to address them, and have the commitment and capacity to do so.

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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 Inspection report children‘s home: SC481295 10 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: SC481295 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Imap Centre Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Imap School, Barrowmore Estate, Barnhouse Lane, Great Barrow, Chester CH3 7JA

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Inspector

Karen Willson: social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: SC481295 12 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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