Children's home run by Next Stage 4 Life Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1256904 1 Registered provider: Next Stage 4 Life Ltd

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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 operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for three young people up to the age of 18, who have a range of complex needs.

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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 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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1256904 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/09/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1256904 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they make suitable arrangement to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  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 the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good knowledge of young people’s needs. This contributes to staff offering young people personalised care. Because of this, young people make progress in many aspects of their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people who have previously struggled to engage in structured activities now have fun and busy social lives. For example, one young person attends gymnastics, swimming and brownies. This is a significant achievement for the young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good knowledge of young people’s emotional health needs. Staff work closely with several specialist emotional health services to ensure that young people receive the targeted support that they need. The stability of young people’s placements and support from staff mean that young people feel able to access their planned therapy sessions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people access full-time education and are making progress in line with expectations. Staff’s links with schools contribute to a collaborative approach to supporting young people both at home and in school. This means that staff can swiftly overcome any barriers to young people accessing school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The impressive home environment provides young people with a pleasant and homely place to spend time. This, combined with staff’s calm and caring approach, ensures that the home feels like a safe and positive place for young people to live in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people get on well with staff. Resilient and child-focused staff show a real commitment to meeting the needs of young people. This means that young people feel important and well cared for. Inspection report children’s home: 1256904 4 Since the last inspection, one young person has moved into the home. The registered manager plans well for new arrivals. Despite this, impact assessments do not fully reflect the registered manager’s knowledge and analysis at the start of young people’s placements. This is an administrative issue which has not affected the care provided to young people.

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

Attentive and alert staff keep young people safe. Staff have a good knowledge of young people’s potential vulnerabilities and take the necessary steps to manage these risks.

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

Young people do not go missing. This is because if they need help or support they can speak to staff.

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

The complexities of young people’s behaviours mean that staff need to be dynamic and adaptable in their approach. Staff continuously try out different ideas and ways of promoting good behaviours. When something does not work, staff are ready to try out an alternative.

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

This means that staff have many successes in managing young people’s behaviours. Currently, staff are using a lucky dip box to provide young people with instant gratification for doing something well. This supplements the continuous positive praise and attention that staff shower young people with.

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

Despite this, some young people’s behaviours can lead to the need for physical interventions. Staff recognise and understand the underlying triggers for such behaviours. They are working hard to reduce the need for such measures of control.

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

On one occasion, staff did not dispose of a young person’s medication when they no longer needed it. This has had no direct impact on the safety of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has ambitious expectations for herself, staff and young people. This helps to keep the welfare, safety and progress of young people at the centre of everything that staff do.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has created a supportive and inclusive culture. This helps staff to be creative and resourceful in their approach. Because of this, young people are progressing emotionally, educationally and socially.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective communication with partner agencies ensures that staff work collaboratively. This means that care planning is well informed and successful. Inspection report children’s home: 1256904 5 A well-trained and suitably experienced staff team looks after young people. Regular supervisions and team meetings help to promote the reliable and consistent care which young people need to thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a realistic and well-informed understanding of the home’s strengths and areas of development. The registered manager acts quickly to address any shortfalls in the care provided to young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A newly appointed independent visitor has improved the external scrutiny of the home. This is supplying the registered manager with independent auditing to supplement her own monitoring systems.

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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: 1256904 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Next Stage 4 Life Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Regency House, 45−53 Chorley New Road, Bolton, Lancashire BL1 4QR

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Inspector

Paul Robinson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1256904 7 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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