Children's Home run by Footsteps a Path to Change Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 1 SC476008 Registered provider: Footsteps A Path To Change Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager in post.

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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: SC476008 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/04/2018 Full Good 22/08/2017 Full Good 16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/12/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 3

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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).

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Recommendations

In particular, the external monitoring should capture the views of young people about the quality of care and show how their views influence and improve the quality of care and support they receive.

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Recommendations

 Sufficient staff means a home having enough suitably trained staff (including someone in a management role) on duty to meet the assessed needs of all children in the home, and that those staff are able to respond to emergency placements, where accepted. The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted, including ensuring that the employment of any temporary staff will not prevent children from receiving the continuity of care that they need (regulation 31(1)). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are happy and settled in their home and are making good progress. Young people enjoy secure and positive relationships with staff and live in a nurturing and supportive environment. One young person said, ‘I like it here and I feel staff understand me. Staff are good and helpful. If you want to talk to anyone, staff are always here. You can have a laugh and joke with staff too.’ Young people say that although there have been staff changes, this has not impacted on them too much. One young person said how he has changed since living at the home. Staff have listened to and supported him, and have offered guidance when needed. His missing-from-care episodes have significantly reduced, and he has been able to build up trust with staff to negotiate free time in the local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are encouraged to engage in a wide range of local activities and groups. This helps to increase confidence and widen their experience of social engagement, and helps them make new friends. Young people have built trusting relationships with staff, and some young people have increased independence time in the local area. Young people are excited by the ideas that they have for the garden buildings, and one young Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 4 person is interested in learning the guitar and mixing music on an electronic deck system.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The wishes and feelings of young people are respected and valued by staff. Young people feel listened to and have an opportunity to express any ideas or suggestions with confidence. The acting manager has implemented some excellent examples of practice to ensure that children are listened to and that communication between her and her staff is clear. The introduction of a communication book has ensured that any information about the young people is documented and shared among staff, which promotes consistent care in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people participate really well in their house meetings, as they have a keen sense of ownership of the home’s issues. These meetings have agendas set by young people, young people are encouraged to chair the discussions, and minutes of the meetings are signed by staff and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff act on requests made by young people. For example, one young person requested more privacy and that staff do not enter her room too frequently. There is now an agreement in place that staff will not enter unless she is unresponsive after they have knocked or called her name. Another young person has individual sessions to express his wishes, as he finds the group meetings more challenging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people would like to develop the wooden lodge area at the back of the garden into a music and meditation studio. There is a plan to fundraise for some of the costs of the renovation by joining a local car boot event. The acting manager has promoted this idea and hopes it will further increase ownership and pride in the home for the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and young people understand the importance of education. Young people continue to make excellent progress and are achieving their personal education targets. All young people attend education and one young person is currently sitting his end-of-year exams. He receives additional tutoring for extra support during exam time. He is also exploring post-16 options for education when he leaves school in the summer, and staff have taken him to visit local education centres and colleges for further guidance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Another young person, who has found mainstream school difficult to manage, has a bespoke package of education which focuses on his interests. He has made good progress and now attends full-time education. Staff have been supportive and creative in ensuring that education plans meet the needs of young people and focus on their interests. Staff have regular education planning meetings with the placing authority to ensure that young people are meeting educational targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Alongside emotional support from the staff, young people have therapeutic key-work sessions with the in-house therapist. All young people have engaged with therapy and benefit from additional sessions to help them understand a little more about their actions and behaviours, and help build resilience. Staff listen to the therapeutic advice provided by the therapist, and this helps them to understand and adapt the level of support given Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 5 to young people. One staff member used her creative skills to make a collage of family photographs with a young person, and this gave the young person the opportunity to talk about her family life experience. Young people have individual memory books, so that they can collate photographs or certificates of special achievements and memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Health needs of the young people are met, and staff encourage young people’s healthy lifestyles through promoting healthy eating choices and activity. All young people have access to local health services, as they are registered with a local general practitioner, optician and dental clinics. Where necessary, young people have had secondary specialist health input. For one young person, the acting manager has been robust in questioning whether the correct clinical diagnosis is in place, alongside challenging the need for medication.

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

Staff are professional in their practice, and effective safeguarding arrangements ensure that young people feel secure in their environment. Any safeguarding concerns relating to young people and staff are managed efficiently and promptly by senior management who have followed correct protocols. One young person made a complaint against a member of staff and this was investigated by following the correct procedure.

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

Each young person has an individual detailed risk management plan and behaviour management plan. These are frequently reviewed, updated by staff and implemented in practice to safeguard young people. Young people understand why there may be some restrictions in place, and staff work alongside young people and professionals to manage the risks. With frequent monitoring of progress, young people have been able to gain levels of trust around mobile telephone use and independence time. One young person is aware that staff monitor her mobile use with a mobile application that can track the internet sites she is visiting. She understands that this keeps her safe and she is happy for staff to do this. Staff explain that this is necessary as the young person is vulnerable to exploitation through websites and social media. This monitoring has been implemented with the agreement of her family and her social worker. By monitoring her

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

activity, staff have been able to offer key-working sessions around specific issues to support the young person.

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

Staff promote a respectful living space, and young people respect and value their home. Episodes of challenging behaviour displayed by young people have significantly reduced, and there have been no incidents of physical restraints. Young people take pride in their living space and are encouraged to undertake household chores. Young people have appropriate sanctions in place, and staff intervene appropriately before behaviours escalate.

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

Staff are aware of the local risks as the acting manager attends the area risk management meeting. This is a multi-agency meeting attended by police and key professionals, and the meeting discusses the local area and any potential risks to young people. The recently appointed manager attended the most recent meeting to introduce himself and build network relations, demonstrating his enthusiasm for his new role. Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been several staff changes. The previous manager left earlier this year and the deputy manager is now managing the home until the induction of the new manager is complete. The interim management arrangements have been effective as they have created stability and continuity for staff and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The company has recruited a permanent manager who is currently shadowing the acting manager for a period of weeks before taking on the full roles and responsibilities of the post. This transition period has allowed for the completion of training and development opportunities in a measured and balanced way. It has also allowed for a period of adjustment for the young people, and has instilled confidence within the senior management team. The overall intention is to achieve the least impact of change for the young people. The new manager will need to complete their formal registration with Ofsted in a timely manner once confirmed in post.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite the changes in staffing, the organisation has managed the staffing issues in the home effectively. Staff from other homes have worked additional shifts to cover sickness or annual leave. The home does not use any agency staff to cover shifts. The consistency of staff is important to ensure that young people continue to feel secure and settled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The acting manager has a passionate and dynamic management style. She is child- focused and puts the needs of young people at the centre of her practice. She is supportive to her staff team and, in turn, staff value and respect her as a manager. She said, ‘I am most proud of how consistent we have been with the young people; despite all the changes, we have kept things stable.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision and management support. Staff have comprehensive training covering a wide range of issues, and more specialist training offered by the therapist. Some staff are not yet qualified in childcare and are still in the process of completing their professional qualification. However, staff development is encouraged in areas of personal interest relevant to the needs of the young people. Staff speak highly of the quality of staff training and management support and are proud to be working for a ‘child-centred’ organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication between the acting manager, professionals and family members is good, and information is frequently shared with relevant people. This ensures that all parties have up-to-date information about the progress that young people make. The acting manager and staff attend all meetings arranged for the young people. The acting manager is not afraid to challenge the opinion of professionals if she does not agree fully with their professional opinion. This shows good advocacy and leadership skills, and shows how well she knows the young people. Professionals report good working relationships and have been able to see an overall improvement in the experience of young people since they began living at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 7 The acting manager is proactive in organising the painting and renovation of the home, including young people’s bedrooms. Each young person has chosen the paint colour and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

new furniture for their own room, adding a personalised and unique touch to their private space. While there were no obvious pictures of young people around the home at the start of the inspection, staff took swift action and put framed pictures of young people up on the walls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The acting manager has ensured a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home by utilising monitoring and review systems. She has implemented actions from the external monitoring information, for example by updating the fire risk assessment. In doing so, she has sought guidance from the health and safety adviser and noted any actions. However, the external monitoring can be further improved by seeking the wishes and feelings of children, professionals, and families to influence and improve the quality of care that young people receive.

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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: SC476008 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Footsteps A Path To Change Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Landmark House, Station Road, Cheadle Hulme, Cheadle SK8 7JG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Charlotte Davies

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Inspector

Kamal Bhamra, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476008 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 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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