Children's Home run by Family Care Associates Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC020595 1 SC020595 Registered provider: Family Care Associates Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is one of several homes owned by this independent provider. The home provides care for up to four children who present with complex behaviours following adverse childhood experiences and trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a registered manager who has been in post since October 2018. He is suitably skilled and experienced and holds a level 5 diploma in leadership, health and social care.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 20 to 21 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: 13 November 2018

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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: SC020595 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/11/2018 Full Good 08/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/06/2017 Full Good 19/12/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC020595 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person must challenge (under regulation 5(c)) any placing authority who asks them to accept a child in the absence of a complete and current relevant plan, as the expectation that a placement of a child without the necessary information would go ahead (in circumstances other than an emergency) is inadequate in relation to their role. It is essential that homes understand what will be required of them before they accept responsibility for a child’s placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child in future and for other children in the home. For non-looked-after children, the home should ensure they have sufficient information from the child’s ‘placing authority’ (usually their parents/carers) and other relevant agencies to effectively assess whether they can meet the child’s needs before agreeing to the placement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph

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Recommendations

11.5) Inspection report children’s home: SC020595 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children receive individualised care from staff who know their routines and how to meet their emotional needs. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. Children are reassured by being able to use the safe spaces created by staff within children’s bedrooms and around the house. Staff support children to settle at bedtime. This helps children to feel secure, manage their emotions and form relationships with staff and other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager oversees the redecoration of the house. Children help the staff to choose the colours and accessories to make the house homely. There are photos displayed of children who live or who have lived at this home. Children enjoy the memories that the photos create, and they invest in the home. A therapist works with the staff to implement a research-informed therapeutic model of care. The therapist tracks children’s progress using an assessment tool designed for children in care. This confirms the registered manager’s review that children make good progress. Children are managing their emotions better and building good relationships with staff and each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children work hard to make progress with their education and future career aspirations. Staff support them with homework, providing reassurance and encouragement to overcome challenges and celebrate success. This inspires children to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager ensures that children have positive experiences when moving into this home. He meets the children, they visit the home, if possible, and bedrooms are prepared with their favourite designs and colours. This helps children to feel welcome and to settle quickly. On one occasion, the registered manager did not obtain all the necessary information to assess the suitability of the home and the staff to meet a child’s needs. This led to an unplanned ending, as the staff were unable to meet the child’s needs and the child’s behaviour was having an impact on those children already living in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepare children to move to foster care, to return home or to live independently. Children who have moved out stay in touch, and staff are positive about maintaining the relationship and recognising the progress that children are continuing to make.

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

Staff identify the triggers which increase the risks for children that are associated with self-harm and inappropriate use of social media. They are aware of their role in keeping children safe by following behaviour management plans and local authority policies. Staff use a therapeutic model within safety plans and teach children how to regulate their behaviour and emotions. Children will therefore ask for increased staff support, or staff will monitor children who prefer time alone in their safe space. Inspection report children’s home: SC020595 5 Children rarely go missing from home, which indicates that children feel safe and settled. Where there have been isolated incidents, staff have been proactive in trying to locate children. The registered manager has promoted independent return-home interviews to help him to understand the reason behind the behaviour and how to help keep children safe.

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

Staff manage children’s behaviour using physical intervention only when children need to be kept safe. The registered manager debriefs children and staff. He analyses patterns and the lessons learned. The registered manager identified an increase in physical interventions with one child, which he linked to the timing of a medication change. The registered manager shared this information with a specialist nurse, who decreased the medication dosage. This helped to improve the side effects that the child was experiencing from her medication, and she is now more able to control her behaviour. Because of the registered manager’s intervention, physical interventions for this child are reducing in frequency.

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

The registered manager has introduced a behavioural points system. Staff encourage children to focus on behaviour that they want to see more of, such as using kind words to each other or wearing the right clothes for each occasion. The children like using the points system, and it motivates them to achieve. Staff encourage children who may be having a difficult day or struggling with the point system to succeed.

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

The registered manager seldom uses consequences for inappropriate behaviour. However, where consequences such as removal of a mobile phone are in place, they are appropriate to keep children safe.

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

The registered manager ensures that children live in a safe home. He recruits staff with a good range of skills and experiences to meet the needs of the children. Children and staff participate in fire drills. The registered manager addresses information from the police to ensure that staff protect children from newly identified risks in the local area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has ambition for the children and wants them to have the best opportunities and outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff state that leaders support them in their work. New staff feel welcomed and benefit from working alongside experienced colleagues. One new staff member described receiving additional emotional support following a challenging situation, and this had helped him to grow in confidence and skill.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has embedded the therapeutic model into staff practice and into the ethos of the home. The therapist attends team and key-worker meetings. Staff benefit from training provided within team meetings to manage the complex issues that children present, such as self-harm. In addition, the therapist supports the registered manager in considering the suitability of children for placement. This helps staff to be aware of children’s needs and prepare for them moving into the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC020595 6 The therapist has introduced an online assessment toolkit and has completed the first review of tracked behaviours. The therapist identifies individualised areas of difficulty for children and monitors their progress over time. The registered manager analyses the results and uses them to further develop staff’s understanding of how to meet the children’s needs. The registered manager recognises that research-informed therapeutic

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

care and assessment models are improving the experiences and outcomes for the children living in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a skilled staff team and is currently completing further staff recruitment. Where additional staffing support is needed, the registered manager insists on consistency of agency workers to provide the children with the continuity of care that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and appraisals which provide professional and personal reflection. Staff refer to how they have used the therapeutic model when working with children. This supports staff’s continuing professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals who work with children living in the home recognise that children make progress through the consistent care provided by a highly skilled staff team. They speak highly of the registered manager’s preparation to help children settle, his commitment and his regular updates.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The reviewing and monitoring by the registered manager are of excellent quality and show an analysis of information. Using them, he identifies trends and progress which he takes to the team meeting for discussion as a team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager explores new and innovative ways to ensure that children have their voices heard. He has created a consultation form which the children complete with their views on life at the home. He analyses the scoring to identify patterns of change. Children have created ‘All about me’ sheets as a way of telling all the important information that staff need to know about them. Inspection report children’s home: SC020595 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 difference 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: SC020595 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Family Care Associates Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 60 School Lane, Bamber Bridge, Preston, Lancashire PR5 6QE

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Inspector

Joanna Warburton, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC020595 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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