Children's home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC416267 1 SC416267 Registered provider: Time-Out Children’s Homes Ltd 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 two children and/or young people who may experience emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by a registered manager who has a number of years’ experience.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC416267 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2019 Full Good 18/12/2017 Full Good 14/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC416267 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, records for the administration and review of prescribed and non-prescribed medication should include the reason why children are in receipt of medication. 11/03/2020

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Recommendations

 Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. This should include gathering the views of external stakeholders. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5) Inspection report children’s home: SC416267 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

From their starting points in the home, children have made very good progress in terms of their emotional and behavioural development. Children respond very well to consistent routines, boundaries and structure in the home. The staff team has worked hard to help the children identify alternative ways to manage their behaviour. As a result, the children are more settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and feel safe. They enjoy spending quality time with staff. Staff offer support and reassurance to the children and encourage them to talk on a regular basis about how they are feeling. Children have developed good relationships with staff and are at ease seeking out hugs and affection from staff. Children told the inspector how they rated their home and staff: 9/10 and 10/10.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time together, share interests and enjoy each other’s company. Staff promote daily conversations at breakfast time, to help the children resolve any difficulties and reflect on the previous day’s behaviours. This helps the children to be open and honest with each other about how they are feeling, and to be able to start a positive new day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning is effective in meeting the children’s needs. The staff team works in partnership with play therapists and psychologists. This approach has helped the children develop the ability to form attachments and address other trauma-related health needs, in preparation for transitions back into foster care. The children engage well with play therapists on a weekly basis and are making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s attendance at school is 100%, and they are both thriving in relation to educational achievements. An education plan shows the commitment the staff team gave to ensuring that one child received support and encouragement in their transition to a new school. As a result, the child is now in a stable school placement. Staff routinely help children with their reading and homework. The relationship between school and the home is very proactive and has been a contributing factor to the success of the children in school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy family visits and time with previous foster carers. Visits are well structured and carefully planned by the registered manager and the placing authority. The registered manager works closely with the social worker to review the effectiveness of the visits, to ensure that they have a positive impact on the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has recently been refurbished and it is very welcoming. The children were involved in choosing soft furnishings and decor throughout their home. As a result, the children take more of a pride in their home and the level of damage has reduced. Photographs of the children and staff are displayed around the home. The children are very proud of their bedrooms and toys, and their trophies that they keep safe in their bedrooms. Inspection report children’s home: SC416267 5 Children enjoy a range of activities. One child plays for a local football team on a weekly basis and has achieved ‘man of the match’ on many occasions. Both children enjoy football, swimming, trampolining and skate parks. Their involvement with these activities has significantly improved their self-esteem and helped them make friends. Both children enjoyed a summer holiday to Cala Gran caravan park. The staff have captured memories

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Social workers are very happy with the progress children have made while living at the home. A social worker said, ‘[Name] is very safe in placement. This is significant in improving his emotional well-being.’

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

Children’s safety is a priority for the registered manager and staff team. Staff provide a high level of supervision for children. When there have been missing incidents, the staff team has used the missing-from-home protocol consistently and the children have returned home safely. Staff carry out debriefs with children to gain an understanding of the reasons they run away and to educate children to help reduce this risk. There have been no missing incidents in the last few months, which reflects the positive work that has been undertaken by the staff team and the progress the children have made.

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

Staff encourage children to understand their individual progress in relation to safety. Staff do this through visual recognition, such as progress charts and certificates. For example, children are helped to recognise reductions in the level of serious incidents. Children are encouraged to develop their own behaviour management plans, to help staff understand why they may behave unsafely and what staff can do to help them. The plans have proven effective and, as a result, the staff team has a good knowledge of the children and their needs.

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

Individual crisis development plans detail children’s risk-taking behaviour and guide staff in their role of helping children de-escalate their behaviour. Staff are consistent in their approach to managing risk. Physical intervention has reduced. Levels of aggression towards staff have also reduced. Children are learning to regulate their emotions effectively and use alternative strategies that keep them safe from harm.

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

There have been no complaints since the last inspection. Children know how to complain and raise concerns if they are unhappy. Children trust staff and have said they feel safe in sharing their concerns. Children’s wishes and views are always listened to, which means they play an integral part in decisions made about their care.

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

Staff have received suitable safeguarding training and training to ensure that they are confident in the use of physical intervention. Staff have a good understanding of procedures for responding to concerns about the safety of a child. Records evidence that staff are clear about when they would be required to use physical intervention to protect children and those around them. Inspection report children’s home: SC416267 6 Since the last inspection, some new staff have joined the team. Safer recruitment has ensured that the staff are suitably vetted and monitored to work safely with children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by an experienced registered manager who has responsibility for two homes and splits his time between the two homes. The registered manager is due to finish his level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential care within the next month.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the registered manager and their colleagues. This includes staff who have recently started working at the home, who talked about a supportive induction process. Staff receive regular supervision and review of their appraisals. The company’s training schedule ensures that staff receive up-to-date training which is specific to the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s rota is covered effectively by staff who work in the home and staff from the other provision that the manager oversees. Although this means there is not a single core staff team at the home, this does not affect consistency for children as they have good relationships with staff across both homes, who are all familiar with the children’s routines.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records for the administration or review of prescribed and non-prescribed medication do not include the reason children are in receipt of medication. This was raised as a recommendation at the last inspection. The manager has failed to make improvements to resolve this shortfall in managing medicines. Although this has not had a direct impact on children’s safety, a requirement has been made to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s monitoring of care provided needs further development to be effective. Staff do not always receive relevant feedback in relation to their management of risk associated with incidents of missing from home and the use of physical intervention. This is important in reviewing practice and improving the level of care provided to children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monthly independent visitor visits always take place. The independent visitor’s report provides an overview of the home. However, the visitor does not regularly receive the view of external professionals regarding the care in the home. This does not have an impact on children because of the level of consultation the registered manager and staff have with professionals. However, the registered manager does not challenge this shortfall during his monthly monitoring. This has been raised as a recommendation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a good advocate for the children and will challenge decisions that are not in their best interests. For example, he has challenged decisions in relation to obtaining suitable foster placements and education provision for the children. The Inspection report children’s home: SC416267 7 manager has very good relationships with professionals and this has contributed to positive future planning for the children.

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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: SC416267 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Time-Out Children’s Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Ripponden Mill, Mill Fold, Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire HX6 4DH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Dominic Macauley

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Inspectors

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Claire Deary, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report children’s home: SC416267 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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