Children's home run by Cherry Cottage Limited in Wigan

Inspection report children‟s home: SC398367 1 SC398367 Registered provider: Cherry Cottage 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 four children who may have challenging behaviour and/or may be emotionally vulnerable. There has been no registered manager since April 2018.

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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 Inadequate

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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: 20 November 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC398367 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/11/2018 Full Good 13/09/2017 Full Good 28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC398367 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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use this understanding to deliver care that meets children‟s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)) 30/10/2019

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The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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help each child to achieve the child‟s education and training targets, as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans;

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understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)) 30/10/2019

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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 30/10/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC398367 4 children‟s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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;

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ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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.

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use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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In particular, the registered person should ensure that a permanent manager is appointed. The appointed manager should apply to Ofsted to be the registered manager. The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children‟s home; and

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the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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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the name of the child; 30/10/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC398367 5 details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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

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a description of the measure and its duration;

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

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

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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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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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has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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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.

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Requirement Due date

Paragraph (3) does not apply in relation to restraint that is planned or provided for as a matter of routine in the child‟s EHC plan or statement of special educational needs. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b)(2)(3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i) (ii)(c)(4))

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  Ensure that staff understand the system for rewarding and celebrating positive Inspection report children‟s home: SC398367 6 behaviour and recognising where children have managed situations well. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 46, paragraph 9.39)

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, two young people have left the home and one young person has moved in.

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improvement to be good

Staff plan well for young people arriving at the home. For example, young people can meet staff, visit the home for their tea, go on activities with other young people and have overnight stays before they move in. This means that young people settle at the home quickly.

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improvement to be good

Similarly, when young people leave the home, staff continue to offer them support. For example, staff visit young people who have recently left the home, taking them food parcels and supporting them to attend important appointments. This shows young people that staff care.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of the needs of young people. Staff‟s knowledge is informed by monthly clinical consultations with a psychologist. This ensures that staff have an insight into the underlying reasons for young people‟s behaviour, and means that care planning is well informed and tailored to the individual needs of young people.

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improvement to be good

Staff work hard to promote the health needs of young people and overcome barriers to young people accessing health treatments. This is because staff understand what works for each young person and whether young people need them to be assertive or sensitive in their approach. This ensures that staff meet the physical health needs of young people.

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improvement to be good

Staff work collaboratively with schools to engage young people in their planned education. In some cases, staff are successfully able to support young people to attend school. However, not all young people are accessing education in line with expectations, despite the continued efforts of staff. This means that not all young people are able to achieve their academic potential.

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improvement to be good

Damage caused to the home by young people means that staff have an uphill battle in keeping the home in a good condition. Staff typically complete repairs themselves to try and keep on top of the maintenance of the home. However, this has resulted in a patchwork of repairs to the home.

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improvement to be good

Some aspects of the property are tired and in need of updating. The registered provider has identified that the bathrooms and kitchen need to be replaced. A budget for this work has been agreed, but there is no date for the work to start. Blinds in one young Inspection report children‟s home: SC398367 7 person‟s bedroom are damaged and in need of repair. While there is an agreement for these blinds to be replaced, there are no agreed timescales for this work to be completed.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good knowledge of young people‟s behaviours. Because of this, staff can predict situations in which young people may struggle to cope. This means that staff can take proactive steps to put support in place for young people, which helps young people to cope with situations which may otherwise have caused them to become upset or anxious.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage young people to reflect on their actions and consider the impact of their behaviours. This helps young people to become more self-aware and develop strategies to manage their emotions. Because of this, young people have made some big improvements in how they behave. However, this is an ongoing area of development for young people, and some continue to self-harm and cause damage in the home. In such situations, staff are often successful in helping young people to calm down, and the need for physical interventions has reduced significantly. Despite this, in some cases staff do need to physically restrain young people. Managers do not always speak to the staff involved in such measures of control after an incident of restraint, which that there are missed opportunities to learn from such incidents.

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improvement to be good

Staff‟s inconsistent case recording means that it is not always clear when young people have received recognition for their good behaviour. As a result, managers do not fully understand the effectiveness of current rewards systems.

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improvement to be good

When young people leave the home without permission, staff take the right action to find them and encourage them to return. In response to such behaviours, staff work with the police and young people‟s local authorities to plan how best to keep the young people safe. However, this does not always result in a reduction in young people going missing from the home. Staff do not always ensure that when young people return from being missing that they are offered an interview with an independent person, so they miss chances to fully understand the reasons why the young person left the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has not had a registered manager since May 2018. This means that the home has lacked stable leadership for a long time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered provider has employed several managers during this period. However, some have not passed recruitment checks, while others have started in post and then left. None have remained in post long enough to be registered with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The current acting manager has been in post since June 2019, but they have decided not to remain in post and are due to leave by the end of the month. This means that Inspection report children‟s home: SC398367 8 there will be a further change in the leadership of the home, which is likely to be unsettling for both staff and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Another manager has been employed and will take over the management of the home at the end of the month. The registered provider expects that they will apply to Ofsted to be the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

In addition to the changes in the home‟s manager, three staff have left since the last inspection. A fourth staff member is also due to leave. Changes to the staff team can be unsettling for young people. One young person commented that the only thing they did not like about the home was that, „You get to know staff and then they leave.‟ Despite these departures, the use of non-permanent staff is low. When the home needs agency staff, managers try and use familiar agency staff. This reduces the number of unfamiliar people who work with young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff who are new to the home are supported by a core group of experienced staff. All staff receive help to develop their skills and knowledge. For example, monthly clinical consultations, regular team meetings, reflective supervisions and task-centred training provides staff with opportunities to learn how to meet the needs of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have access to a wide variety of training courses. However, systems to check what training staff have completed are not clear and it is difficult for managers to find gaps in staff training needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The current manager‟s short time in post means that she is still developing her knowledge of young people and learning about the day-to-day functioning of the home. Because of this, the manager is reliant on the help and support of the deputy manager to lead the home. Positively, the deputy manager has appropriate levels of knowledge and experience, and he is child-focused in his approach. He knows young people well and he is passionate about their success. This is mirrored by team leaders, who are equally committed and passionate about young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are successful at developing links with partner agencies. Effective communication is at the centre of this. This contributes to a collaborative approach to meeting the needs of young people.

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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. Inspection report children‟s home: SC398367 9 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

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Information about this inspection

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: SC398367 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cherry Cottage Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 28 Finch Mill Avenue, Appley Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire WN6 9DF

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Inspector

Paul Robinson, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC398367 11 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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