Children's home run by Halliwell Homes Limited in Staffordshire Moorlands

Inspection report children‟s home: SC470224 1 SC470224 Registered provider: Halliwell Homes 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 private children‟s home that provides care for up to 10 children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager‟s application to register with Ofsted was received in April 2019 and is currently ongoing.

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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

Date of last inspection: 5 February 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC470224 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/02/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/10/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC470224 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— (a) mutual respect and trust; (b) an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and (c) positive responses to other children and adults.

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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 and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; and de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(iv)(xi)) 01/10/2018

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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— (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 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; demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(2)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 01/10/2018

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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— 01/10/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC470224 4 (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(2)(e)) Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing injury to any person (including the child); serious damage to the property of any person (including the child).

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20(1)(a)(b)(2)) 01/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes details of methods used or steps to avoid the need to use the measure, the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and any other person present when the measure was used. (Regulation 35(3)(v)(vi)) 01/10/2018

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Recommendations

 For children‟s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. („Guide to the children‟s home regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, that scuffed and damaged plasterwork and woodwork are redecorated and any damage caused within the home, including within children‟s bedrooms, is promptly repaired.

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improvement to be good

Children‟s have made variable progress since living at the home. The majority of children make progress with regard to educational attendance and their willingness to engage in activities, and many young people develop skills in managing emotional responses.

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improvement to be good

Some children, however, have not maintained their progress, and experience regular conflict with staff. One child requires regular physical restraint to manage the risks that some behaviours pose. Another child currently refuses to engage in any form of education offered, and has done so for many months. Inspection report children‟s home: SC470224 5 All children engage in the home‟s group activities and staff work hard at providing a variety of fun leisure pursuits that meet children‟s requests and interests. Some children are engaged in regular community-based activities such as football teams and music lessons. This offers children opportunities to develop friendships outside the home and widen their social circles.

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improvement to be good

All children‟s contact plans are fully supported by the staff. Some children since joining the home have begun to engage in contact with family, where previously they had rejected any form of contact.

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improvement to be good

Staff maintain boundaries and expectations of children. However, some children‟s negative behaviours continue, despite attempts by staff to effect positive change. As a result, the repeated measures employed by staff are viewed by some young people as punitive.

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improvement to be good

Damage caused to the home by children has resulted in the home presenting as worn in places. For example, radiator covers have been broken off the walls, and carpet grippers and screws are exposed. Many of the children‟s rooms have had repairs carried out to the plasterwork, but these repairs have not been repainted. Skirtings and doors are scuffed and shabby looking and the kitchen work-surface is cracked in places. There is a large metal bolt and padlock fixed to the kitchen door; it is not used, but detracts from the overall presentation of the home.

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improvement to be good

Children spoken to reported that there were staff that they trusted and could talk to. Some, however, reported a sense of loss when staff ceased to work at the home.

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improvement to be good

Children do not engage in drug or alcohol misuse, nor are they at risk of child sexual exploitation or criminal exploitation. Incidents of missing from home are infrequent and staff follow children‟s reporting procedures when incidents do occur.

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improvement to be good

Some children experience frequent physical intervention from staff to manage their behaviours. Records are not clear with regard to the attempts staff have made to prevent the need for this type of intervention and managers have not evaluated trends or patterns. As a result, opportunities to de-escalate and change the practice of staff have been missed.

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improvement to be good

Some records of physical interventions are not clear with regard to which staff have been involved in the restraint. The record with respect to one incident is not clear, as it implies that a physical restraint took place, but this has not been recorded.

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improvement to be good

The influence of some children in the home is disruptive to others‟ bedtime routines, and some incidents escalate and other children become involved. Managers are aware of Inspection report children‟s home: SC470224 6 these difficulties and they have taken steps to involve the local authority in sourcing alternative placements for identified children.

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improvement to be good

Not all children view the responses of staff as fair and the use by staff of „reflective time‟ in their rooms is both repetitive and ineffective in changing some behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Managers have appropriately responded to allegations that children have made about staff. However, managers have looked at incidents in isolation and have not evaluated the information in light of previous allegations. There has been delay in concluding a managerial investigation into a serious incident that occurred, and as a result learning for staff is not available.

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improvement to be good

A response to serious incidents in the home has been to lock the downstairs rooms in order to prevent damage to the home. Although this has been reviewed by the manager and has ceased, a large bolt and padlock that was placed on the kitchen door has not been removed.

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

The manager was appointed to manage the home in September 2018. She commenced the application process to register with Ofsted in April 2019.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes in the staff team. Out of 18 members of staff, 14 have started working at the home since August 2018. Including the manager and deputy manager, only four members of staff are qualified. This does not provide long-term stability of care for children, and has required the managers to work long hours to ensure that staff are fully supported. Managers are aware of these shortfalls and have developed plans to address the ratio of staff who are qualified. For example, qualified staff who previously worked at the home are providing additional support for staff and children. In addition, some staff who are identified by managers as demonstrating particular potential, are being accelerated through their qualification studies. Professionals spoken to considered the communication from the managers and staff to be timely and appropriate. One social worker considered that a key-worker‟s practice

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

with a child has gone „above and beyond‟. Staff reported that managers were approachable and supportive. Managers are aware of the areas for development and have developed plans to address these. However, these plans are yet to be imbedded and realised. Inspection report children‟s home: SC470224 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 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: SC470224 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Halliwell Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Tape Street, Stoke-on-Trent ST10 1BB

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Inspector

Pauline Yates: social care inspector Michelle Bacon: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC470224 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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