Children's Home run by Full Circle Care Limited in Tameside

Inspection report children’s home: SC396104 1 SC396104 Registered provider: Full Circle Care 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 privately run children’s home offers care and accommodation for up to six young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered by Ofsted in July 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 November 2019

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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

Date of last inspection: 25 September 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC396104 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/09/2018 Full Outstanding 12/07/2017 Full Good 15/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/10/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC396104 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— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 31/12/19

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which— include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)) In particular, this refers to local authority care plans, placement plans and details of the child’s legal status. 31/12/19

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children in their care. A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is delivered in line with regulation. It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraphs 13.2 to 13.4)  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing

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Recommendations

authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5). This is with particular reference to risk assessments being reviewed in line with agreed timescales and Inspection report children’s home: SC396104 4 being signed and dated by the author and, when read, by the wider staff team.  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11). This is with particular reference to training for key-working.  Children in residential care usually live in a group environment, and so it is

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Recommendations

particularly important that they can spend time away from other group members. Staff should respect children’s privacy and support the other children living in the home to do so (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.17). This is with particular reference to window coverings for the ground-floor bedroom.  The ethos of the home should support each child to learn, emphasising the value of independent study and reading for enjoyment. The home must make available suitable facilities, equipment and resources for learning and ensure that the home’s routines do not form barriers to children wishing to use the home’s resources to study. Staff must support children with home study by encouraging them to learn independent study skills and helping them to practise those skills (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 29,

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Recommendations

paragraph 5.8). This is with particular reference to the availability of a range of age-appropriate books and magazines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make sustained progress in all areas of their lives. The home provides them with the structure and support within which they thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people from diverse backgrounds live together harmoniously. Young people are respectful of each other and relationships are good. As a result, young people’s day-to- day experiences are positive. Their well-being is promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people quickly develop a sense of permanence and belonging within the home. Young people who have left the home since the last inspection have done so in a planned way. Some of these young people have reached adulthood, having been at the home for a number of years. The level of stability in the home means that young people have a good foundation from which to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people are in education. Those of school age attend the organisation’s own school on site. This aids good communication between teachers and the home. Young people’s attitude to education and training is positive. Young people are actively engaged with their learning and have aspirations for their futures. Young people receive help and encouragement to complete homework. There is space in the home for them to study in Inspection report children’s home: SC396104 5 a quiet environment. However, there is limited access to age-appropriate books and magazines. As a result, opportunities to encourage reading for pleasure are missed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people take part in a range of activities of their choosing in the community. They are encouraged to be active. Young people told the inspector about the ‘sportsman of the month’ award. There is friendly rivalry to see who will take part in the most activities and win the prize. As a result of this, young people have fun, stay healthy and have access to a range of new experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have access to the right support to address their health needs. The home has a good relationship with the sexual health service. The sexual health practitioner comes to the home on a regular basis to meet with individual young people. This encourages their understanding of the importance of sexual health and positive sexual relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people are offered weekly sessions with the organisation’s art therapist. Young people told the inspector how much they value this time and how this support helps them. Young people’s art work is displayed in the home. This has the additional value of giving them pride in their artistic achievements.

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

The risks associated with young people are identified, and clear risk assessments are in place. These are accompanied by detailed plans to reduce risks. These plans are not always reviewed within agreed timescales and they are not always signed and dated by the author. The wider staff team members are not consistently signing young people’s plans to acknowledge that they have read and understood them in line with the expected protocol of the home.

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

Young people’s case files are, for the most part, comprehensive. However, there are some examples of local authority care plans and placement plans being out of date. Some young people’s legal status is incorrectly recorded. This means that staff do not always have accurate information to undertake their work with young people.

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

Young people do not go missing from the home. This contributes to them experiencing stability in their own lives and not being adversely affected by the instability of their peers. There are good assessments in place in relation to young people having free time. These allow them to develop their independence while ensuring that they are adequately safeguarded.

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

Young people who are developing their understanding of their own sense of identity are helped to access relevant support. One young person has become involved in a local youth group. As a result of this, he has gained in confidence and developed positive friendships. This has promoted his emotional well-being and resilience.

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

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted in the home. Young people do not behave in Inspection report children’s home: SC396104 6 a way which would necessitate the use of physical intervention by staff. This positive environment helps young people to manage conflict in a constructive way. As a result, they are better equipped to deal with challenges they may face as they move towards independence.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks posed by use of the internet. This is balanced by a recognition of the benefits to young people of positive online activity. There are individual agreements in place with each young person. These help them to use the internet in a way which allows them to have fun and promote their learning, while ensuring that they are not placing themselves in unsafe situations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the home has gone through a period of significant change. The home has changed ownership. This resulted in the registered manager and a significant number of staff leaving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current manager was registered by Ofsted in July 2019, having moved from one of the new organisation’s other homes. She has been accompanied in this move by her deputy manager. They both bring positive leadership and management experience to the home. Following these changes, the statement of purpose has not been updated and distributed in line with regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a comprehensive development plan for the home. Team meetings are held regularly. It is clear from the minutes of these meetings that positive changes are being driven forward by the manager and her deputy. Staff said that they are now able to act more autonomously. This has enabled them to improve the quality of their work with young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home continues to experience a period of transition. The changes to the staff team have brought an initial period of instability. The staff team is not yet complete, and agency and bank staff are still being used. As a result of this, young people have not had continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. New members of staff have not had the level of supervision required to help them to reflect on their practice and on the progress of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The pressures brought about by changes in staffing have led to new staff having an accelerated induction to their roles. One member of staff was assigned a key worker role in her first week of employment. Staff do not receive formal training to undertake the key worker role. As a result of this, staff are potentially left in a situation in which they do not have the skills and knowledge necessary to complete their work to a high standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The physical environment of the home is maintained to a high standard. Young people Inspection report children’s home: SC396104 7 respect the home, and there is no damage. Young people are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms. One bedroom on the ground floor of the property does not have adequate privacy due to the position of the window. This room is not currently in use. Young people have been involved in the redecoration of the home. Plans are in place for replacement of the kitchen. This will include young people having their own oven to help them to develop their independence skills.

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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: SC396104 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Full Circle Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Danielle Barton-Crump

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Inspector

Dawn Parton, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC396104 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 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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