Children's Home run by Fairfield Residential Limited in Trafford

Inspection report children‟s home: SC387148 1 SC387148 Registered provider: Fairfield Residential 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 home provides residential care and shared care for up to five children who may have physical and/or learning disabilities. The home is run by a private company and provides education on-site at a registered school.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in place since January 2016.

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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: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC387148 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/04/2018 Full Good 16/05/2017 Full Good 25/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC387148 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 care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that each child‟s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)) 31/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff help each child to— develop the child‟s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child‟s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child‟s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 31/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 31/07/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC387148 4 registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)) The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b)) 31/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children‟s safety. The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children‟s home; or 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).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of 31/07/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC387148 5 the work that the individual is to perform; and full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 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 relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

if the child dies before attaining the age of 18, for 15 years from the date of the child‟s death;

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Requirement Due date

in cases not falling within sub-paragraph (a), for 75 years from the child‟s date of birth;

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Requirement Due date

securely in the children‟s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 31/07/2019

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Recommendations

 In some extreme cases where children have very complex care needs, a child may need to be restrained by mechanical or chemical means. Any use of such restraint should follow a rigorous assessment process and, as with any restraint, be necessary and proportionate. Wherever such restraint is planned, it should be identified within a broad ranging, robust behaviour support plan which aims to bring about the circumstances where continued use of such restraint will no longer be required. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 47, paragraph 9.45) Inspection report children‟s home: SC387148 6

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improvement to be good

Children and young people have built trusted relationships with key staff who care for them. All children and young people make some progress, depending on their starting points. A parent said, „She has come on leaps and bounds. She is talking more now. Her behaviour has calmed.‟

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improvement to be good

Some children and young people come to stay at the home on shared care arrangements, while other children and young people have lived together at the home for a year or more. Transitions from the home are well planned. Since the interim inspection, one child has moved back to the family home. Staff have worked positively with the family and placing authority to ensure consistency of care for the child.

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improvement to be good

Despite a recommendation at the last inspection to address shortfalls in care planning, progress with this has been limited. An occupational therapy assessment that was undertaken in January 2019 made a number of recommendations to aid a young person‟s sensory processing. However, the registered manager and staff have still not implemented these recommendations. This means that there has been a further delay in the young person receiving care and support tailored to their individual needs.

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improvement to be good

The complex needs of children and young people require high levels of planning, but there is little evidence of regular monitoring and evaluation of children‟s and young people‟s plans. For example, plans do not reflect their preferred means of communication. A child‟s education and healthcare plan states that in the last two years they have become better at using True Object Based Icon (TOBI) symbols. However, the home‟s healthcare plan has the name of another child in it and states that the preferred method of communication is picture exchange communication (PECS).

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improvement to be good

The organisation has recently employed a part-time speech and language therapist to help staff improve their communication skills and thereby communicate more effectively with children and young people. This is work in progress.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people do not consistently experience high-quality activities. While children and young people have access to a range of activities in the home, including the sensory room and garden, some have limited access to community-based activities. Plans do not take into account children‟s and young people‟s capacity to try new experiences and nurture their potential.

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improvement to be good

The requirement made at the interim inspection in relation to staff signing the risk assessments has been met. Clear risk assessments provide guidance to staff on how to Inspection report children‟s home: SC387148 7 manage children‟s and young people‟s identified risks. The home is suitably secure, and appropriate staffing levels mean that children and young people receive high levels of supervision.

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improvement to be good

Staff use mechanical restraint, including a harness and reins for one child. The use of these is in line with the wishes of the parent. However, a regular review of their use has not yet been established by the manager.

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improvement to be good

The use of physical restraint is rare, and staff have received suitable training to ensure that they are clear on the thresholds required for its use. Following a requirement made at the last inspection, the manager has reviewed the effectiveness of the one physical intervention. This ensures effective oversight of staff practice.

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improvement to be good

Health and safety arrangements are not consistently well managed. The home was inspected by a fire safety officer on 18 October 2018 and a recommendation was made to ensure that all fire doors effectively self-closed. However, the inspectors identified that the door leading from the entrance hall to the school did not self-close fully so that it sat into the frame. Furthermore, an advisory note requiring the provider to ensure that the locking of fire exit doors is robustly managed, and that the risk management arrangements are fully documented within the fire risk assessment, has not been addressed.

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improvement to be good

The quality of recruitment checks is not sufficiently robust to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and young people. For example, managers have not undertaken appropriate checks for those staff who have previously worked abroad, to ensure that they are safe to work with vulnerable children and young people.

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

In the main, the home operates in line with its statement of purpose. However, there are shortfalls in the management‟s monitoring. For example, there is little or no evaluation of key-work sessions carried out. Case records do not provide a clear picture of the work undertaken with children and young people. Furthermore, it is unclear how progress is being measured for individual children and young people.

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

The manager and staff have developed good working relationships with parents and social workers. A professional commented, „Her [the child‟s] parents are adamant that they want her to stay there, as they feel it is the right placement. She has a nice relationship with some staff and they understand her needs.‟

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

Staff reported that they feel well supported by the manager. They benefit from regular supervision and team meetings. However, not all staff benefit from detailed handovers from one shift to another. For example, inspectors observed a very brief handover from school staff to the home staff. Staff from the home asked no questions from the school staff, nor did they contribute to the handover.

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

A total of 18 staff work in the home on a regular basis. However, only eight of these Inspection report children‟s home: SC387148 8 hold a suitable childcare qualification. Staff have completed mandatory training and some basic online training in autism and communication techniques. Staff would benefit from further training in these areas to enhance their skills and knowledge in supporting children and young people with highly complex needs.

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

There is evidence of improvements to the maintenance and decor of the home following the last inspection. The shower has been fixed and the carpet that had a strong odour emanating from it, has been replaced with wooden flooring. Improvements are ongoing to further improve the home environment.

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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: SC387148 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Fairfield Residential Limited

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Inspectors

Michelle Bacon, social care inspector Pauline Yates, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC387148 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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