Children's home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC357468 1 SC357468 Registered provider: Timeout Children’s Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is one of several children’s homes operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. If required, children and young people can access the organisation’s school and therapy department. The manager is new to the post and is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC357468 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/06/2018 Full Good 11/09/2017 Full Good 31/01/2017 Full Good 31/08/2016 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: SC357468 3

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Recommendations

 Records must be kept of the administration of all medication. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15) Specifically, ensure that staff record consistently the reason for administering non-prescribed medication to the child.  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Specifically, ensure that all staff complete training in understanding self-harm and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The child has benefited from a prolonged placement that has lasted for nearly two and a half years. During this time, she has been supported unconditionally by a small team of staff members, who have demonstrated a parent-like commitment to her. She has formed strong attachments with staff generally but most significantly with her keyworker, who has been a constant source of support in both her previous and current placements. A social worker said, ‘Everything needed to change [Name’s] life for the better has been provided. They all work exceptionally hard to get the best outcomes for [name] and have achieved this. [Name] is in good, capable hands with people who care a great deal about her and she would not get any better care and support anywhere else.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The experience of living at this home has had a significant and positive impact on the child’s life. Staff have worked hard to help the child to develop a sense of permanence and belonging. This has provided a platform on which to make continuous and sustained improvement in many aspects of the child’s life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Education outcomes have improved significantly. At the last inspection, staff had listened to the child and had fought hard to secure a mainstream placement for her. They went to great lengths to sensitively prepare her and to support her transition into school. Inspection report children’s home: SC357468 4 A strong, collaborative home/school relationship has been maintained. This has been used effectively to respond to and successfully overcome several challenges and potential barriers to participation. An education professional wrote, ‘[Name] has made more progress than most professionals had thought she would. Her attendance is much higher than it has been at any school for years and she has made good academic progress. I consider part of the success is due to the partnership between ourselves and the home.’ She went on to say, ‘[Name’s] needs are too great for this level of responsiveness not to exist.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff like spending time with the child and provide lots of opportunities for her to pursue her interests, to enjoy life and to have fun. While preparing to visit an ice cream factory, the child spoke to the inspector about trips to the cinema, meals out, going to the gym and her summer holiday to Lanzarote. These memories are captured in colourful and child-friendly journey books that provide a pictorial record of the child’s experiences and progress, an important reminder of her positive care journey when she leaves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Identified at the last inspection, a primary need for this child was to reduce her overdependence on staff and to encourage her to develop friendships outside of the home. Positively, spending time with friends has become an increasing part of her daily routine, although it is still apparent that she enjoys the company of staff. Staff show an interest in who she is mixing with and do their best to get to know her friends, who are welcome to visit the home. Where appropriate, they will establish links with parents and involve professional agencies to maintain a proportionate balance between her right to take age-appropriate risks and responding to risk-taking behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Good working partnerships with health providers ensure that the child’s known and emerging physical and emotional health needs are consistently met. Staff monitor and respond to changes in behaviour, such as obsessions with diet and exercise and body image. The manager is naturally inquisitive and will spend time researching these types of behaviours, while liaising with the organisation’s therapist and engaging specialist agencies to undertake assessments. The therapist said, ‘The manager and staff are incredibly committed to [Name]. They have been very aware of the need to be sensitive in their approach to tackling this issue and the manager has gone to great lengths to get this right.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Overall, medication management is strong. However, staff do not always record the reason why they are giving the child non-prescribed medication. This could make it difficult to identify patterns and underlying concerns.

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

Observations throughout the inspection indicate that the child is accepted, nurtured and safe. Risk assessment and risk management processes are of a good quality and are implemented consistently by staff, who understand their safeguarding responsibilities.

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

Reduced supervision, increased independence and the emotional toil of peer Inspection report children’s home: SC357468 5 relationships have resulted in a slight increase in risk-taking behaviour. This includes experimenting with alcohol, failing to return home at the agreed time and self-harm. Staff are mindful of the need to be proportionate in their responses. They ensure that risk-taking behaviour is managed in a way that encourages learning and does not compromise social development. In all cases, staff respond in a way that prioritises the child’s safety and well-being.

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

The procedure for offering the opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview following an episode of going missing needs to improve. Of the eight incidents of going missing, three were not completed and three more were out of timescale.

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

The team models consistent and caring behaviours. The child responds positively to parent-like boundaries and is generally polite and respectful, as seen during this inspection. Staff place a great deal of importance on the positive relationships that exist between them and the child. Incidents of conflict are infrequent, but when fallouts do occur, staff work hard to rebuild relationships through reflective discussion and compromise.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The long-standing registered manager has recently left the home. She has been replaced by an experienced childcare practitioner who has been fully involved in the care of this child for over a year. The new manager is child-focused and demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of this child’s journey and how staff have contributed to the progress that this child has made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has responsibility for a second home within the organisation. She is still in the process of establishing a work pattern that means spending less time at head office learning about systems and more time in the home developing her leadership style, particularly important given the recent staffing changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s promotion combined with staff leaving or moving to other homes in the organisation mean that the core team of three staff has changed completely. The manager understands how this will impact on the child and has made every effort to minimise disruption. Careful thought has gone into identifying the new team members and matching their skills and personalities to the needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high expectations of her team members. She ensures that they receive regular supervision, which forms part of their personal development plan. This is formally reviewed every four months. This competency-based approach highlights the organisation’s commitment to developing a competent and effective workforce.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have good access to both mandatory and needs-led training. All staff are in the process of completing modular training in the home’s therapeutic model. It would be beneficial for the new team members to complete the module on understanding self- harm and suicide as a matter of priority. Inspection report children’s home: SC357468 6 Suitable action has been taken to address the recommendation from the previous inspection. The identified repairs have been completed and further improvement work has been undertaken such as redecorating the hall, stairs and landing and replacing bathrooms.

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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: SC357468 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Timeout Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Ripponden Mill, Mill Fold, Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire HX6 4DH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Dominic Macauley

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Inspector

Paul Scott: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC357468 8 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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