Children's Home run by Young Alliance Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report children’s home: SC381531 1 SC381531 Registered provider: Young Alliance 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 privately owned children’s home. It provides care and accommodation for five children who may have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities. The manager has been registered since December 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC381531 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/01/2019 Full Good 25/10/2017 Full Outstanding 22/02/2017 Full Outstanding 04/08/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC381531 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 recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. (2) The registered person may only— (a) employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or (b) if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). (3) The requirements are that— (b) the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32(1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(b)) With particular reference to the child-care qualifications of agency staff. 31/07/2019

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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— meet the needs of each child; and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6(2)(c)(i)(ii)) With particular reference to the shared garden space between the adjacent day school and the children’s home. 31/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1)) With particular reference to the inclusion of any criteria used for the same day admission of children to the home. 31/07/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC381531 4

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Recommendations

 No more than half the staff on duty at any one time, by day or night at the home should be from an external agency. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.17)  For looked-after children, the registered person should seek to ensure that the local authority regularly consults the child and the home about the child’s relevant plans. If the child raises concerns about the content of any of their plans, their implementation or the process of review, staff should advocate for the child and seek to ensure that their concerns are addressed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.11) With particular reference to the accurate content of care plan documents which must match the agreed plans for the placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a nurturing and homely environment and the registered manager and her staff team know the young people very well. Young people receive a high level of quality care and professional feedback is very positive. ‘It’s an amazing placement and staff go above and beyond. They manage the risks well and attend all the meetings.’ Each young person has varied individual needs based on their emotional, physical and mental well-being and each young person is supported with an individualised placement plan that meets their day-to-day needs. Young people have complex needs, and present as secure and happy and have made significant progress since they have been at the home. There has been one new admission since the last inspection and the young person has settled very quickly. This is testament to a supportive, nurturing, and caring staff team. Young people are growing in self-confidence and making more day-to-day choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people explore different hobbies and interests and develop social skills in the community. Young people are making friendships in the home. One young person has increased her self-confidence. She is taking pride in her appearance and enjoying dressing her hair in varied styles and taking an interest in what she wears. She attends education and enjoys her school. There has been a marked improvement in her overall health and the need for prescribed medication has decreased. The young person is also eating a variety of foods. Another young person who has complex and additional needs has made significant progress. The adaptations in the home allow her to have independence and have increased her mobility. She chooses to be out of her wheelchair in the home and has safe and free access to move around at floor level. Staff have responded to the young person’s wishes and feelings and the freedom of movement has made her feel secure

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

and happy. Her self-injurious behaviour has also reduced. Inspection report children’s home: SC381531 5 Young people and staff make good use of the child-friendly lounge area, where they eat together and young people take part in creative activities or play games with staff, creating a warm and homely environment. Tidy, clean and personalised bedrooms give the young people the option of privacy and there is appropriate use of an electronic monitoring system for one young person who is prone to seizures in the night. Privacy for all young people is respected. Young people are listened to. For those young people who have verbal communication difficulties, staff use a range of pictorial exchange images to communicate. This ensures that young people’s wishes and feelings are captured and they can make their own choices or say how they feel. All children attend education located some distance from the home. Staff help to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

transport the young people and, for those that travel by taxi, staff ensure that they are present to greet them on their return, ensuring that young people are settled quickly after a school day and long journey. Young people are making very good progress with their education. All children attend school or college and there is good communication between the home and education to ensure continuity when the young person returns home. The manager attends a range of external meetings to support care plans for children. One young person is in the process of transitioning to independence and the manager has attended monthly multi-agency care planning meetings to assist with this process. The young person is actively involved in the long-term plans for his future. Care plans are updated after each young person’s placement review meeting as this captures important information about the progress and long-term planning for the young

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

person. One young person’s care plan does not match the manager’s understanding of the placement’s anticipated length. It is important that correct and updated information is kept on the young people’s records. Family contact is encouraged where appropriate and staff have facilitated contact in the home, ensuring that young people are safe and supported.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the medical conditions for each young person and ensure that they receive the appropriate medical care and medication. Young people attend all health appointments. Staff listen to young people and offer calm and thoughtful advice when they might be upset or angry. Staff use the positive behaviour support model of behaviour management which is proving effective to manage challenging behaviour. The home uses a paperless secure electronic record system which ensures that information is uploaded instantly, and senior managers can read information and be notified if there is a concern. There are clear risk assessments and recordings in place for each young person. Risk assessments are updated frequently to adapt to the changing behaviour presented by each young person and there are safety plans in place should behaviour escalate. Clear risk assessments are in place for young people

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

requiring moving and handling, and the manager is planning training that is more Inspection report children’s home: SC381531 6 specific to the home to tailor it specifically to the needs of the young people. Staff are adaptable and responsive to the needs of children and ensure that children are safeguarded, and all procedures are followed. There is regular communication with professionals and family members. There has been one safeguarding concern against a member of staff and the manager has responded to this efficiently, following all correct procedures. There is a small day school on-site that is registered for young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and the school shares the back garden area with the home. While none of the young people from the home attend the school, there is a small number of children that attend from the local community. Young people living in the children’s home should be able to have free access to their own garden space at

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

all times, so that they can participate in their daily life, and further discussions are to take place between both provisions as to the best use of this communal space.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is qualified and experienced to work with children. She has a range of skills and experience to offer the children and her staff team. The manager is nurturing and calm in nature and her approach sets the overall atmosphere in the home. The manager is respected by her staff team and is reported to be very much involved and ‘hands on’. Staff appreciate her support and open-door policy. Equally, the manager speaks positively of her staff team and says that the driver for improvement for young people is her nurturing and committed staff. The manager is sensitive to the needs of the children and she has introduced a pictorial exchange communication tool to gain the wishes and feelings of children. This is something the manager is very proud of. ‘Every week, we complete the consultation and we do individual plans as each child’s needs are vastly different.’ She is responsive and attentive to the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The enthusiasm of the team and management ensures that children have a high standard of care and are helped to achieve their own personal targets and make excellent progress. All staff receive regular supervision and training and most of the staff will be fully trained in positive behaviour support over the coming months. The manager and her team know the children very well and have a detailed understanding of their care needs. The manager acknowledges the challenge of retaining qualified staff as local competition from other providers is very high. Both she and her managers are addressing this issue within their organisation to help retain skilled staff. Some staff have previously been employed as agency staff and have progressed to permanent staff members. This shows their satisfaction and enjoyment of working in the home. Agency staff cover is used at times and the manager ensures that she selects staff she

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

has used before to ensure continuity of care and familiarity for the young people. However, on an isolated occasion, more than half of the staff team on one shift were agency or bank staff, which does not provide consistent care for the young people. In addition, the agency staff utilised in the home are not qualified in child care, as a Inspection report children’s home: SC381531 7 number have adult care qualifications. The qualifications of agency staff must match the home’s statement of purpose. There has been one emergency admission to the home since the last inspection. Although it is not usual practice for the manager to admit a young person in this way, she ensured that all necessary documentation, equipment and plans were in place from the placing authority before the young person moved in to assist with her settling in. The statement of purpose for the home requires an update to reflect same day admissions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has clear aspirations and plans for the home and has plans to renovate and improve the home over the next year. The manager’s ambitious nature and plans for improvement are indicative of her commitment to the young people’s improving outcomes and positive progress.

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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: SC381531 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Young Alliance Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 60 School Lane, Bamber Bridge, Preston PR5 6QE

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Inspectors

Kamal Bhamra, social care inspector Karen Forster, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC381531 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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