Children's Home run by Partners in Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: SC441717 1 SC441717 Registered provider: Partners in Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is one of a range of residential services provided by a private organisation. The home can care for four children and young people aged between eight and 17 years old.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager was registered with Ofsted on 7 September 2018 and is currently undertaking the relevant qualification.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

Date of last inspection: 8 February 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the interim inspection on 11 February 2019, Ofsted judged that the home had declined in effectiveness. Ofsted conducted an urgent case review, the outcome of which was the decision to issue two compliance notices and a restriction of accommodation notice. The restriction of accommodation notice remained in place for a period of six weeks. Following a monitoring visit to the home on 21 March 2019, Ofsted was satisfied that the home had sufficiently addressed the restriction notice and the compliance notices. Inspection report children’s home: SC441717 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 19/04/2018 Full Good 09/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC441717 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 health and well-being standard is that the health and well- being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10(1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff should adhere to the policies and procedures regarding children smoking tobacco. 09/08/2019

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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 that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; and have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 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; and that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12(1), (2)(a)(i)(iii)(b)(c)(d)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all risks are clearly understood and assessed, and that appropriate plans and strategies are put in place to minimise these risks and support the child.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, ensure that the outside of the property is safely accessible by children and regularly maintained. 09/08/2019

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Recommendations

 Where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as Inspection report children’s home: SC441717 4 possible. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that children have access to statutory educational provision in a timely way.  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, ensure that assessments and plans are individual to the child, and take into account how to manage and monitor risk-taking behaviours.  Ensure any sanction used to address poor behaviour is restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return to home interview. Homes should take account of the information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect a child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  All staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 53, paragraph 10.12)  Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and

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Recommendations

understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4). Specifically, ensure that records contain accurate, sufficient detail that is unambiguous. Inspection report children’s home: SC441717 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress living here. Staff know the children well and the children have developed strong and trusting relationships with staff. Staff offer consistent care to the children. They work effectively together to ensure that children receive positive messages. Children respond well to this approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can see that staff care about them. They understand why routines and boundaries are in place. Children can identify the progress that they have made and areas where they need further support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage children to establish and maintain positive relationships with their friends and family. Staff are able to support children well at those times when seeing family and friends can cause them some distress. Children benefit from this warm and nurturing support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly, and staff communication with school is strong. Children make good progress in education, and their attendance and attainment improve. However, when children are not in education, for example when they first arrive at the home, there is a delay in securing educational provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have moved on from the home have done so in a planned way. In these instances, the home has worked together with the local authority to support the children to make a good transition to their new placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a range of activities, including holidays. They have the opportunity to explore their interests and experience new things. Children speak positively about this. These opportunities enrich children’s lives. Furthermore, they support them to develop their social skills and grow in confidence.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from a safe and nurturing environment. They say that they feel safe. Staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities. Staff respond to safeguarding concerns in a timely way and engage relevant agencies to help to keep children and young people safe.

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improvement to be good

Children’s assessments and plans have improved since the last inspection. They are clear and reflect the child. However, in some instances they do not consider risk in a wider context. Strategies are in place to reduce risks and manage behaviours. However, these strategies are not always clear. Furthermore, the monitoring and reviewing arrangements are not robust enough. Inspection report children’s home: SC441717 6 Children do not always receive external help and support to meet their needs. In addition, staff do not always have the required information to understand these needs. As a result, children do not always have safeguarding plans that are informed by the correct assessments.

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improvement to be good

When children smoke tobacco, staff do not have a clear assessment and plan in place to reduce this risk-taking behaviour. Staff take some steps to manage this behaviour, however these are not robust enough.

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improvement to be good

Children receive support and incentives to take responsibility for their own behaviour and choices. Sanctions are rarely used. However, when they are used, they are not restorative in nature and do not always achieve the desired outcome.

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improvement to be good

The missing-from-care policies and procedures are not followed in their entirety. Assessment and plans are not always clear, and recording is not accurate enough. Furthermore, children are not always benefiting from a return-home interview.

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improvement to be good

The home has had some home improvements since the last inspection. It looks homely and inviting. The games room and the external area of the home still require work. The external area is in need of specific attention. While some hazards have been removed, it is still not child friendly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff have aspirations for children and advocate on their behalf. They are committed to the work that they do and want children to be safe and happy. The responsible individual offers the required support to the home. The home benefits from this leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported and valued. They spoke about how this has improved since the last inspection. They benefit from regular supervision, and day-to-day support is good. Staff receive training that enhances their confidence, knowledge and skills. The training helps staff to have a better insight into children’s needs, and this has a positive impact on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all staff have completed training in line with the regulations. The registered manager is aware of this and will ensure that all necessary training is adhered to in a timely way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight is not yet consistent across all areas of practice. Recording standards are also inconsistent. In some instances, information is incorrect, missing or contradictory. Managers identify that this area of practice needs further attention and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff are committed to developing the home. They are able to reflect and learn from their experiences. They are keen after this to enhance their knowledge, skills and abilities and ensure that this has a positive impact on children’s outcomes. Inspection report children’s home: SC441717 7

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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 difference 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: SC441717 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Partners in Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rouse House, 2 Wyther Lane, Kirkstall, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS5 3BT

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Inspector

Lisa Gregoire-Parker, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC441717 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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