Children's home run by Proactive Care in Tameside

Inspection report children’s home: SC479776 1 SC479776 Registered provider: Proactive Care

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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 independent children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager registered in June 2019.

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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: 14 February 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A restriction notice was in place for this home. This was issued on 3 May 2019. However, the restriction notice is lifted following this full inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC479776 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/05/2018 Full Good 24/10/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/07/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC479776 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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii) and (e)) 15/09/2019

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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;

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 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; 15/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC479776 4 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d) and (e)). The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 15/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC479776 5 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii) and (c)(iv)).

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to staff involved in the restraint not being involved in management sign-off for the restraint. The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a) and (d)).

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to removing the closed-circuit television (CCTV) on the top-floor landing of the home. 15/09/2019

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  Ensure that relevant plans are obtained from the placing authority. This relates

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Recommendations

specifically to obtaining an up to date copy of the young person’s Personal Education Plan (PEP). (‘Guide to the children homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1) Inspection report children’s home: SC479776 6

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improvement to be good

Some young people benefit from suitable care that promotes their needs effectively. Currently, there is only one young person living at the home. Ofsted issued a notice restricting accommodation at the home on 3 May 2019. However, following this full inspection the notice of restriction is lifted and no longer applies.

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improvement to be good

Some young people make satisfactory progress in relation to their individual starting points. The young person living at the home reported, ‘It’s normal. I like being here. I like the area and get on well with staff.’ The young person is making slow but steady progress with staff support. He is beginning to develop trusting relationships with staff. Staff support the young person with all aspects of his care, provide him with regular support through key working and ensure that he engages in his education. Staff are supportive of the young person’s education and learning. However, an updated (PEP) is required to promote the young person’s education achievements.

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improvement to be good

Other young people have not benefited fully from their placement in the home. The home has endured an unsettled period since the last inspection. A young person was admitted in March 2019. Their admission changed group dynamics, and the behaviours of young people became unsettled and unstable. This led to the manager serving notice on two young people’s placements in quick succession.

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improvement to be good

There are suitable arrangements to promote the current young person’s health. He is registered with all relevant health services, and staff ensure that he has access to these services when he needs them. The young person attends his routine health appointments with support and encouragement from staff.

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improvement to be good

Young people have previously caused considerable damage to the home. However, repairs and redecoration work have been undertaken quickly to promote a comfortable environment for young people.

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improvement to be good

Young people know how to make a complaint, and there is evidence to support this being the case. There has been one complaint from a young person since the last inspection. This was investigated appropriately and was dealt with fairly and in a timely manner. The complaint was resolved quickly, and the young person making the complaint was satisfied with the outcome. No complaints or concerns were raised by young people during this inspection.

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improvement to be good

Staff are trained in child protection and are alert to the risk of harm. The use of risk assessment and adequate risk management procedures promote young people’s safety. Inspection report children’s home: SC479776 7 The provider’s new responsible individual has agreed to the removal of CCTV from the interior of the home. At the time of the inspection, CCTV is still evident on the top-floor landing of the home, and it needs removing. The CCTV facilities to the exterior of the property are legitimate and still in use.

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improvement to be good

A young person was moved from placement following an urgent strategy meeting after a whistle-blower raised concerns about a significant incident at the home. This was in relation to a restraint in which a young person was allegedly assaulted by another young person at the home, and staff reaction to the incident was delayed and not in accordance with the home’s own procedures. An internal investigation into the above incident has since taken place. Appropriate action has since been taken by the new responsible individual in liaison with the designated officer.

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improvement to be good

Three staff members were suspended as part of the investigation. There were shortfalls in the home not notifying the appropriate authorities, and staff recording of the restraint was not explicit enough. The manager is now in the process of reviewing the home’s behaviour management policy, and training on restraint has been arranged for all staff to attend in July 2019.

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improvement to be good

New guidance has been issued to all staff on reporting and recording safeguarding issues. The new guidance reaffirms that senior staff charged with the sign-off of restraints must not be any of the staff involved in the restraint episode in question.

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improvement to be good

The frequency with which young people go missing has reduced considerably since one young person’s placement was ended due to increased concern for her safety. The young person currently in placement rarely goes missing. When young people have gone missing from the home, staff work closely with the police and actively look for young people to locate them and promote their safe return.

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

The registered manager of the home started working for the company in April 2019 and registered with Ofsted in June 2019. The home was without a registered manager from August 2018 until the recent registration. The new manager is suitably experienced and qualified. She is beginning to demonstrate suitable leadership of the operation of the home and is in the process of introducing a number of changes to secure the continuing improvement in practice. There is a new responsible individual for the company.

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

The registered manager is supported by an experienced deputy manager to deputise in her absence. There are clear lines of responsibility and accountability for the day-to-day practice in the home and for keeping young people safe and promoting their well-being.

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

A number of staff have left the home since the last full inspection. The home is currently recruiting to fill these vacant posts and positions. The provider will need to ensure that there are enough staff employed to meet the needs of any future admissions, as there is only the one young person currently living at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC479776 8 Staff turnover has been an issue. This means that young people are not consistently benefiting from continuity of care to promote stability and consistency in their lives. The manager and responsible individual are both committed to achieving continuity of care and a low staff turnover.

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

The home has met most of the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection. Those not met are repeated. One recommendation made at the last inspection could not be re-assessed as there is only one young person in placement. This relates to the home demonstrating how compatibility impact assessments consider the needs of young people already living at the home.

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

The home is visited monthly by an independent person who checks the arrangements for delivering young people’s care and checks the home’s arrangements for promoting young people’s safety and well-being. The manager is currently completing her internal quality of care review as required by regulation 45. The manager is beginning to make use of the home’s external and internal monitoring activities to understand the strengths and any weaknesses associated with the home. The manager is receptive of feedback and actively tackles any shortfalls in the performance of the home to secure the home’s improvement.

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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: SC479776 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Chase, Bolton, Lancashire BL1 5HL

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Inspector

Anthony Kyem, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC479776 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 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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