Children's Home run by Appletree Treatment Centre Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report children‟s home: SC033268 1 SC033268 Registered provider: Appletree Treatment Centre 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 home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 12 children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. This company also runs a school, registered with the Department for Education, within the same grounds as the children‟s home. Currently, all the children from the home attend the school.

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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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children‟s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC033268 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/05/2018 Full Good 07/08/2017 Full Good 22/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 30/08/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC033268 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 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; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b) and 2(a)(h)) 31/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children‟s home if— there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and the registered provider— is an organisation or a partnership; does not satisfy regulation 28; or is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of— the name of the person so appointed; and the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) and (2)(a)(b)) 31/07/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC033268 4 A person may only manage a children‟s home if— having regard to the size of the home, its statement of purpose, and the number and needs (including any needs arising from any disability) of the children— the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of

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Requirement Due date

children; and the person is physically and mentally fit to manage the home; and full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the person in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(i), a person has the appropriate experience and qualification if the person has— within the last 5 years, worked for at least 2 years in a position relevant to the residential care of children; worked for at least one year in a role requiring the supervision and management of staff working in a care role; and by the relevant date, attained— the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 5 Diploma”); or a qualification which the registered provider considers to be equivalent to the Level 5 Diploma. (Regulation 28(1)(b)(i) and (2)(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)) 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). The requirements are that— the individual is of integrity and good character; the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of 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.

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Requirement Due date

31/07/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC033268 5 (Regulation 32(1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40(4)(c)) 31/07/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm, highly nurturing and homely environment. They enjoy positive and trusting relationships with staff and often develop strong attachments to them, knowing that staff genuinely care and worry about them. From these relationships, children gain a great sense of security and affection. During this inspection, one child surprised a member of staff with some flowers and chocolates. The child said, „She always thinks about me, so I wanted to do something nice for her.‟ Generally, children are very happy and settled in this home. Despite several management changes, this has not destabilised children‟s progress or the security that they feel living at this home. Children only tend to become a little unsettled when other children with whom they have developed friendships move on from the home. This is managed sensitively by staff, who involve the children in saying their goodbyes with

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

some celebration and gifts. Children make good progress in all areas of their development from their starting points and, accordingly, the home has a good track record of achieving good outcomes. Significantly, since the last inspection, three children have moved to live with long-term foster families, with another child returning home to live with his parent. Children moving on from the home do so in a planned and well-managed way. This makes sure that children are fully supported to make this transition, and that it takes place at a pace that is comfortable for them. Children‟s health needs are well understood and supported. A qualified and registered health professional employed by the company co-ordinates and oversees that their health needs are met. Children have regular therapeutic support from a team of local therapists commissioned by the home. This provides children with good opportunities to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

engage in creative therapies, such as art and music therapy, to promote their emotional well-being and mental health. Children are encouraged to take responsibility for their personal care, as is age- appropriate, and help with household tasks. This successfully increases their independence and makes them more resilient. Children have excellent attendance at the company‟s independent school which is located within the grounds of the home. All children are currently making significant progress in their education and enjoy the additional opportunities school can offer. For some, this has included developing their talents for singing and dance and performing at Inspection report children‟s home: SC033268 6 large venues locally and in other cities. Children have a fun and enjoyable experience at this home. They say that they love the wide range of activities that the home provides. Indoors, they have plenty of books, toys

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

and board games to help them learn and keep them amused. Outside, children enjoy playing in the grounds, on bikes and scooters, exploring and making dens. However, the children are unanimous that their favourite activity is going out on trips with staff. This provides them with many and varied opportunities to learn and socialise, promoting their confidence and self-esteem. Placing authorities contacted during this inspection spoke highly of the home and the high standard of care provided. One social worker commented, „Staff are very accommodating. They are good at co-ordinating contact and there is good communication from staff. I have no concerns whatsoever. [Name of responsible individual] is very helpful.‟

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

The safety and protection of children living at this home is a clear priority for all staff. Children say that they feel safe and that staff care about them and look after them well. Children feel secure and have good attachments to staff. Overall, children‟s relationships with each other are good and any minor disagreements are effectively dealt with by staff to maintain and restore good relationships. Children do not report bullying to be an issue in this home. They can identify a range of staff that they can speak to should they feel unhappy or worried about anything. Children are closely supervised and rarely go missing from staff care. However, there has been one recent incident involving several young people leaving the school premises without permission. Staff assisted in searching for the children and made sure local protocols were followed, enabling the children‟s swift return to the safety of the home

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

unharmed. Children respond well to the routines and boundaries established as part of their care planning. Because of this, children have a good understanding of what is acceptable behaviour and what is expected of them. This helps them to feel safe and secure. External monitoring arrangements quickly identified two occasions when allegations made by children had not been appropriately reported and investigated. The home‟s responsible individual acted immediately to report and organise an independent investigation of these concerns. She also commissioned a full safeguarding review and successfully acted on all recommendations made. This decisive and immediate action ensured that children‟s safety and well-being was not further compromised by the initial delay. During this inspection, some recruitment practices were found to be inconsistent and, therefore, insufficiently robust in protecting children. For example, records for one staff

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

member originally appointed through an agency failed to contain the outcome of vetting and checks undertaken, including verification of relevant qualifications held. Although there was no concern that suitable checks and qualifications existed, this was a deviation Inspection report children‟s home: SC033268 7 from the home‟s usual good safer recruitment practice.

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

Following the last inspection, the home‟s registered manager moved on to manage another home within the company. Although a new manager was appointed, there was some considerable delay before an application was made to register with Ofsted. In May 2019, the manager resigned from her post, withdrawing her application to become the home‟s registered manager. Consequently, there has been an excessive period during which this home has been without a registered manager to provide suitable leadership and management. Suitable interim management arrangements have recently been established pending the appointment of a new permanent manager. The registered manager, from a sister home with an outstanding track record, has been appointed as interim manager with the expectation that she will support the induction of a new manager. Staff spoken to during the inspection welcome these interim arrangements and say that

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

they are well supported in their roles. Staff consultation, regular supervision, and frequent staff meetings are identified as being key to this support. Staff also benefit from the guidance and support offered by children‟s therapists, which helps their understanding of children‟s needs and how to support them. The home has recently experienced some staffing issues due to sickness and other staff leaving for a variety of personal reasons. Staff have worked well together, volunteering to work additional hours to minimise the need to use agency staff. This has successfully promoted a good continuity of care for the children. The effectiveness of internal monitoring has declined in recent months due to limitations in the former manager‟s experience. However, in comparison, external monitoring has significantly improved, providing greater scrutiny of the home. Reports sent to Ofsted have provided a clear overview of the home‟s performance, demonstrating when issues

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

and concerns have been identified and dealt with. The home is usually very proactive in keeping Ofsted and other professionals informed of any incidents that occur at the home. However, due to weakness in the internal monitoring arrangements, there have been two recent occasions when Ofsted was not notified in a timely manner of allegations made against staff. This delay reduced transparency of their practice with Ofsted. Staff have participated in a recent company-wide development pilot, known as „Growing and Learning Together‟. The launch of this new initiative is imminent and aims to further develop staff practice, support and recognition. It has been well received by staff, motivating them and promoting their inclusion and participation in the home‟s ongoing development planning.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children‟s home: SC033268 8 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: SC033268 9

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Appletree Treatment Centre Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Meathop Park, Meathop, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria LA11 6RF

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Inspector

Gillian Walters, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC033268 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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