Children's Home run by Lifetime Opportunities Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 1 SC411046 Registered provider: Lifetime Opportunities Ltd

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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 privately owned and run. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for three children who have learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered to manage the home in 2012.

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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

Date of last inspection: 20 September 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: SC411046 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2018 Full Good 18/09/2017 Full Good 13/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential, and; promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph requires the registered person to— ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. . (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2(d)) This is with specific reference to recruiting a sufficient number of staff to the core team and reducing the over-reliance on the manager covering shifts 31/05/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— undertake professional development; receive practice related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)) 31/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— include the information and documentation listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) 31/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 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— the name of the child; details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; 31/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 4 the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person

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Requirement Due date

to do so (“the authorised person”)— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 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. (Regulation 35(3(a)(i–viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should monitor and review the patterns and trends of turnover of staff, whether agency or directly employed, and be able to understand and where possible, address any negative trends. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.19)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from the long-term care that this home offers. The young people have lived at the home for many years and as a result this has afforded them stability and a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Over time, young people make individual progress that includes widening and increasing their means of communicating, such as increased use of sign language and increased use of verbal communication. Through these skills, young people are better able to express their needs and wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s participation in community activities is fully promoted by the staff. Irrespective of young people’s disabilities, staff support them to engage in a number of fun and life-enriching opportunities. These include after-school and youth clubs, trips to the cinema and bus rides out to surrounding towns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For young people who are experiencing difficulties in accessing daily education, staff work hard to understand and overcome these barriers. Close liaison with other agencies, such as education and the local authority, ensures that this understanding and support planning are comprehensive and fully informed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and facilitate contact between young people and their families. Through this, young people’s identities are maintained and strengthened. Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 5 Young people are encouraged by staff to develop their independence and broaden their self-care skills. However, documentation that would inform staff of current progress and goals has not been kept up to date.

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

Staff are vigilant with regards to young people’s communication patterns and emotional presentation. In addition, close liaison and sharing of information with other professionals, such as teachers and social workers, contributes to the insight and understanding to provide young people with safe care.

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

High levels of staffing provide young people with a sense of safety and well-being. As such, young people have not been exposed to situations or people that would pose a risk to their safety and welfare.

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

Young people’s risk assessments are detailed and individualised. They offer staff good insight into the strategies to be put in place to ensure that young people are cared for safely.

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

When young people demonstrate changes in behaviours that cause concern, the manager and staff act appropriately in seeking meetings with other agencies to discuss the concerns and formulate plans.

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

Recruitment of staff adheres to procedures that ensure that young people are not exposed to adults who may pose a risk to their welfare and safety.

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

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She is committed to the young people at the home and acts as a good advocate to ensure that their needs are met. When young people’s progress stalls, she acts in a timely way to ensure that their changing needs are addressed via a multi-agency approach.

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

At the last inspection, a requirement was made in respect of recruiting and retaining staff to enable the manager to give greater focus to managerial tasks. This requirement has not been met. Turnover of staff, staff vacancies and the increased needs of some young people have resulted in the manager regularly working shifts.

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

Consequently, managerial oversight of the home has been weakened. For example, the home’s care plans have not been updated for over 12 months and it is not clear if the information contained remains relevant.

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

Progress for young people does not benefit from clear managerial evaluation and analysis. This is hindered through the information being dispersed and embedded in other documents. Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 6 Incidents and physical restraints are recorded in six different places and it is not clear from documents whether staff have been appropriately debriefed. In addition, when the manager has been involved, she has not independently been spoken to about the measures taken. As a result, a requirement made at the last inspection has not been met.

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

The manager introduced documents, such as ‘information passports’, to provide succinct overviews to staff about young people. However, these have not been fully completed nor reviewed by the manager.

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

There is a range of training that is available for staff to access. However, not all staff have received training in Makaton. This is a primary method of communication for one young person.

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

At the last inspection, a recommendation was made with regards to new members of staff receiving suitable levels of supervision. This has not been met.

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

The manager is aware of these shortfalls. She acknowledges that some management tasks have been neglected in favour of ensuring that the care of young people remains consistent and appropriate.

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

Professionals report good working relationships with the manager and staff and that decisions that are made are child-focused. Comments from teachers and social workers include: ‘They genuinely want what is best for him and they are very committed,’ and, ‘When he has a need, they try and get it resolved.’

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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: SC411046 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lifetime Opportunities Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Windsor House, Bayshill Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3AT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Shona Wands Alderson

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Inspectors

Pauline Yates, social care inspector Sylvia Eboigbe, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC411046 8 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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