Children's Home run by Crystal Care Solutions Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report children’s home: SC460800 1 SC460800 Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities. The home is privately run and managed. The registered manager has been in place since August 2016.

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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 outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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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

Date of last inspection: 10 January 2019

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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: SC460800 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/01/2019 Full Good 13/12/2017 Full Good 28/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC460800 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (under Regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people benefit from exceptionally high-quality care. This quality of care ensures that young people can make significant changes in their lives. Young people, with very complex emotional needs, have made incredible personal journeys and sustained progress. Young people are achieving in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people engage really well with the manager and staff. Staff communicate clearly with young people and respond appropriately to their wishes and feelings. Young people develop a sense of permanency and belonging. Staff refer to young people as joining the family. Young people feel safe and enjoy secure and warm relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people have grown in confidence and are much more able to manage their emotions and to build healthy relationships. Staff are creative and innovative with their practice. They have supported young people to achieve with their education, health and emotional well-being. Young people have learned how to keep safe in the community and have gained additional independence time. One young person, who previously had social anxiety, is now able to confidently travel some distance for contact on his own to meet with his family. Staff have helped him to build on his social skills so that he has the relevant skills and confidence to be able to travel on public transport.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people enjoy the same opportunities as their peers. Two young people have graduated from college this summer in their chosen subjects of interest and will continue with their education in September. All young people attend education and the manager uses her knowledge of the local area to ensure that young people have the highest, and most supported, educational opportunities available to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Health needs are well met, and all young people are registered with primary care services. Some young people have a fear of dentists and staff have registered young people with a dentist who specifically supports young people with dental phobia. Staff liaise with the local hospital and maintain all specialist health appointments and ensure that young people have the necessary equipment to meet their needs. Staff are Inspection report children’s home: SC460800 4 proactive and research any health needs with guidance from the medical team. Relevant medical information is maintained within the young person’s records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

One young person has had a significant personal transformation since coming to the home. Young people make measurable progress and staff will continue to work with young people and to encourage them even though they may not be achieving the desired outcomes straight away. Staff encourage, nurture and support young people to achieve their own individual targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are encouraged to have an active voice in the home. Staff will listen and action any concerns and grievances that young people may have. Minutes from young people’s meetings are kept in the staff meeting file. This ensures that points requiring action can be referred to and actioned. Staff support young people with little delay and will follow all the steps to ensure that young people are fully supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Direct work is completed with a young person through key-work sessions and further support is offered in therapy sessions. This systematic approach ensures that children feel fully supported and listened to and that procedures are consistently followed. The manager and staff understand relational trauma and attachment theory and use this well in their practice to provide a respectful and safe environment for young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff use their creative thinking, knowledge and expertise to ensure that young people have the very best opportunities. One young person has a passion for cars, and a member of staff arranged a day out to a famous racing track. The young person had a truly memorable day and was able to meet, and have photographs taken with, some of his idols.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have a meticulous and comprehensive transition plan. At the point of referral, the service manager consults with the therapy team to ensure that a thorough impact assessment is completed. Staff are engaged in the decision-making process. Staff are proactive and ensure that they consult with several key professionals who know the young person, before the transition takes place. Where appropriate, staff will visit the young person to help build a relationship of trust and familiarity. Staff ensure that they listen to young people and help them to settle in and will go to great lengths to ensure that young people feel safe during their transition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support young people to successfully move on. Staff are supporting a young person with a twin-track transition plan. The young person is still undecided about where he would like to live when he turns 18. Staff are ensuring that they fully support the young person’s wishes and feelings. Staff continue to liaise with, and work successfully with, the necessary professionals to ensure that a smooth transition takes place.

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

Young people have clear and structured boundaries in their day-to-day lives. This helps young people to feel safe and less anxious. Young people have a high level of weekly therapeutic support sessions provided by the therapy team. Therapists come into the Inspection report children’s home: SC460800 5 home to work directly with young people and to offer support and direction to staff. Therapists follow a structured therapeutic strengths-based model approach that helps young people to identify risks and to achieve meaningful goals. Staff have excellent knowledge of this evidenced-based model and embed this knowledge into their daily practice.

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

The use of restraint is minimal and only ever used as a last resort to keep young people safe. The consistent approach by staff to manage challenging behaviour ensures that children respect boundaries and feel safe.

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

Staff actively promote the safety of young people and take effective action when they have concerns about a young person’s welfare. Staff are highly experienced to manage any episodes of young people going missing. Staff will involve the local safeguarding officer from the police to help engage young people to talk to them about any risks, for example the risks associated with county lines.

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

There have been three episodes of young people going missing since the last inspection. These incidents are linked to the transition of a young person and a period of settling in. Staff have kept the young person in view and have followed procedures should he get out of sight. To help address the missing episodes with the young person, staff have acknowledged that one of the young person’s coping strategies is to go for a walk. Staff have negotiated a safe zone around the home with clear boundaries before the missing from care protocols are activated. The young person has respected and agreed with the plan and there have been no further episodes. The safeguarding officer said, ‘It is a fantastic environment for the young people to live and that is a testament to the people regularly working there. You can see there is a rapport between the staff and the young people. This is only normally built on trust, which means that the staff are also well

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

respected. Again, I cannot speak highly enough of the care that I see here every time that I visit.’

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

Highly skilled staff are innovative and creative when supporting young people. A member of staff has used her knowledge and experience as a teacher to help a young person to communicate his feelings. He has a safe zone in his room, a small tent, where he has a pack of cards, colouring pencils and a paper sheet with small figures in various emotive poses. The young person communicates his feelings to staff by colouring in a figure and writing in the speech bubbles. This is a simple but very effective resource tool that is constructive in helping staff to understand how young people are feeling, and that they are listened to, and how staff can help them to cope with their feelings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home’s manager is an experienced and qualified registered manager. Her practice is exemplary. The manager has created a culture of mutual respect and nurture for the young people and her staff team. In turn, staff’s nurturing and insightful practice has given young people stability and security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There are excellent operational systems in place that exuberate efficiency and clarity. Inspection report children’s home: SC460800 6 Filing systems are highly organised and accessible. Risk assessments and behaviour management plans are comprehensive and easy to navigate through. The manager dates and signs all assessments. Any updates regarding behaviour are recorded at the front of the file so that staff can readily access this information. This organised system ensures that staff can respond efficiently and promptly and follow clear guidance when caring for young people. The manager continues to look for areas of improvement and will be implementing a new electronic system for young people’s records in the coming months. This will ensure that every entry into the system is signed electronically.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager values and respects her staff and, equally, they value and respect her. Staff are encouraged to have high expectations for young people and to use their knowledge and skills to help young people to achieve. The staff members are a highly skilled team of people who work tirelessly to keep young people safe. They act on their own initiative and without prompting. They continue to enhance their knowledge through regular training and reflective supervision provided by therapists and the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is always a strong advocate for young people and is not afraid to challenge partner agencies, while maintaining professional relationships. One young person who will shortly be 18 and is preparing for independence has not had contact with his social worker for several months due to her illness. The lack of contact was increasing his anxiety and behaviours in the home. The manager escalated this to the service manager of the local authority who responded by appointing a new social worker and by providing a letter of apology to the young person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Despite staffing changes, there has been minimal impact on young people. Staff have remained consistent and focused on young people. New staff receive a thorough and comprehensive induction programme, including training on the therapeutic model adopted by the home. This ensures that new staff fully understand the aims of the therapeutic model and the impact on young people and can implement the model in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager utilises the home’s internal and external monitoring activities to ensure excellent standards and practice. The independent monitoring activities lack detailed evaluation, and a recommendation is, therefore, made in respect of this issue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is passionate and has a vision for the home. She gives the young people a sense of belonging and ownership in their home. The home delivers high-quality care for young people and meets the aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose. The theory behind the therapeutic model is fully embedded into the working practice of the home, and the manager and her staff team fully understand how to engage and support young people. Staff are always striving for improvement and they love their work. Young people make outstanding progress and have had enriched and positive experiences that help them to go on to lead successful lives. Inspection report children’s home: SC460800 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: SC460800 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bank House, Market Square, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 1ET

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Inspector

Kamal Bhamra: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC460800 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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Inspector

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