Children's home run by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 1 SC034108 Registered provider: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council

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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 local authority children’s home provides long-term and short-break care for up to six children who may have physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The previous registered manager retired in October 2019 and an interim manager is overseeing the home. The interim manager is in the process of submitting her application for registration to Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 14 to 15 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 requires improvement to be 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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/05/2018 Full Outstanding 06/09/2017 Full Good 20/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/07/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) 31/01/20

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (3)(e)) 31/01/20 Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 4

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Recommendations

 Homes that care for children where, as a result of their impairment or disability, restraint is a necessary component of their care should include information relating to this in the behaviour management policy and Statement of Purpose. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.44). This is with specific reference to locking external doors.

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Recommendations

 Just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (regulation 21(c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. Information on restraint and deprivation of liberty is contained in the protection of children section of the Guide from paragraph 9.41. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10).

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Recommendations

 Regulations 35-39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10). This is with reference to the most recent education, health and care plan being kept on file for each young person.

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9). This is with reference to attention to paintwork in the communal area, and repair to bathroom tiling and the bathroom wall.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides care for young people with physical disabilities and learning disabilities. Some of these young people have complex health needs. A number of young people reside in the home, and others access the home for short-break care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The daily lived experience for some of the children is very positive. Children with complex health and physical needs are looked after by an experienced team whose members understand the needs of the children in their care. The home is suitably adapted to ensure that children can live comfortably within the home. Children have an opportunity to personalise their rooms and this helps them to feel secure. This also adds Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 5 to the homely appearance of the home. Staff ensure that children on short breaks have access to their personal belongings or favourite items.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some areas of the home require attention, such as the paintwork in the communal area and the damaged bathroom tiling and bathroom wall.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are given the opportunity to experience activities in the community alongside their peers. Children enjoy meeting their friends in the community, going shopping or attending clubs. This helps to increase their confidence, but also increases their social and emotional skills. One child attended her end-of-year prom, and the interim manager decorated her car to escort the child to her party.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to express their wishes and feelings through children’s meetings. Staff use a range of creative communication tools to ensure that children can express their likes and dislikes. Staff can recognise facial expressions and non-verbal cues to understand what children need as they know the children very well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who use the service are from the local area. For some children this is positive. Children can maintain contact with their local community, friends and family. Family members are encouraged to pop in if convenient. For other children, the proximity to the home can be detrimental as it can cause confusion and lead to children wanting to return home. This situation was particularly relevant to one child who did not have a clear care plan. It is important that children have up-to-date education, health and care plans and that the manager chases missing copies with the placing authority.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and professionals speak positively about the home. One parent said, ‘I am more than happy for my child to come here; he has been coming here since he was five, he is now 15 years old. He loves to come, and the staff are really good with him. He comes twice a week now and he is eager to get here. He is happy when he is here.’ A professional said, ‘All of my kids love coming here. I wish we had another place like this because of the communication and the progress the young people make.’

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

Children live in a nurturing and supportive environment. Staff provide good-quality care and support to children with a range of complex physical and health needs. Staff treat children with dignity, respect, love and care. Staff use pictorial images to help those children who are non-verbal to communicate their wishes and feelings.

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

Children make progress with their health and education. Each child has an individualised education, health and care plan; however, some documents on record are not current or up to date. Children with complex physical and medical needs have a team of clinical staff who advise and support staff. Staff understand the needs of those children with complex needs and show a good understanding of their detailed medical plans. Children’s medication is recorded and checked by two members of staff to ensure rigorous oversight. Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 6 Children have clear risk assessments and behaviour management plans, which, in the main, are well implemented by staff to keep young people safe. For one child, the behaviour management plan has been adapted to be less punitive. For this child, there has been a significant decrease in incidents. She is now able to accept instructions that are simpler for her to understand and follow. She can regulate her emotions and will

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

often take herself to her room for quiet time.

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

Children have good-quality key-work sessions. These are detailed discussions that help young people understand several topical issues, such as staying safe online and healthy relationships. For one child, who was the subject of safeguarding concerns in school, staff helped them to understand healthy peer relationships. Staff helped the child to have an open discussion about the challenges of teenage friendships and relationships. Staff attended all meetings and liaised with family to ensure clear communication between all stakeholders.

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

One child who lived at the home had a primary presentation of emotional and behavioural difficulties. His presentation was not typical of other children in the home and there was uncertainty regarding his future placement options and unclear care planning. During this child’s stay there was an escalation of behaviours and a significant increase in restraints due to his challenging behaviour. This had a direct impact on other children, who at times found his behaviour upsetting. That said, staff were able to support a successful transition to another home once a suitable placement was found.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The interim manager is an experienced and knowledgeable manager who has worked for the service for some years. She shows an ambitious vision and has high expectations for what the children can achieve, despite their individual needs. The manager is in the process of developing new systems in the home. She has yet to apply to Ofsted for registration.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff enjoy coming to work and there is consistency of care for children. Some staff have been in post for many years. The dedication and commitment of staff are evident, and they talk about the children with warmth and kindness. Staff work together well, and handovers are detailed and thorough. The staff team is a specialist team in its field, which has excellent knowledge and experience of children with disabilities and complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Care plans for most children are sufficiently matched to the skill-set of the staff in the home, however, for one child this was not the case. While, the registered manager made the decision for this child to move to the home, poor care planning and a lack of detailed risk assessment, prior to the child moving to the home, led to outcomes for this child that were not in his best interests. Staff reported feeling out of their depth in managing his challenging behaviours. Inappropriate restraint procedures, such as locking doors to contain behaviour, were implemented. Moreover, the home failed to report serious safeguarding incidents to Ofsted. Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 7 All staff receive regular supervision. This is reflective and helps staff to understand the challenges of their role. The interim manager is keen for her staff to receive praise and recognition for their hard work. Staff welfare is a high priority. New staff receive regular

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

supervision and complete a comprehensive induction programme. All staff are offered specific training tailored to the needs of the children in the home. A professional said, ‘[Name] has a machine to help with her breathing. Since she has been on the machine, she has been well. Staff have embraced all the training and done really well. Staff have followed all the advice. For non-medical staff, they manage her care well.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have excellent relationships with parents and professionals and all feedback is positive. There is good evidence of partnership working and the quality of care ensures the best possible all-round support to children and young people in all areas of their development. Staff work alongside nurses who specialise in complex needs, social workers from the children’s disability team, occupational therapists, paediatricians and hospital staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children have positive endings to their placements and that transitions are smooth. Staff have completed pre-placement meetings and visits for children who are unable to travel. They have liaised closely with other settings and attended planning meetings where necessary. Staff have accompanied children and stayed overnight if required to facilitate visits to new placements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home has implemented a new system of internal monitoring provided by an independent visitor. The interim manager has welcomed the changes, as the detailed reports are assisting her to recognise areas of development and improve the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home’s statement of purpose and behaviour management policy require updating to demonstrate why restraint is a component of care to safeguard those children as a direct result of their impairment or disability. Keeping external doors locked at the home is a form of restraint.

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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: SC034108 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Market Street, Hyde, Tameside SK14 1AL

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Inspector

Kamal Bhamra, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 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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