Children's Home run by Hapin Care Limited in Wirral

Inspection report children’s home: 2527654 1 Registered provider: Above And Beyond Residential Care 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

The home is owned and managed by a limited company. It can provide care and support for up to two young people who are no longer able to live at home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since the home opened in July 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: This is the home’s first inspection.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2527654 2

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ix)) 27/03/2020

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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; 27/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2527654 3 understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)) 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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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

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lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h)) 27/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 27/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2527654 4 that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)) In particular, improve the quality of the impact risk assessment for new admissions to the home, and source all of the necessary information from the placing authority. 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)) 27/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

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— a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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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)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv)) 27/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; 27/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2527654 5 are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the procedure must provide that no person who is the subject of a complaint takes any part in its consideration or investigation, except at the informal resolution stage if the registered person considers it appropriate.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (1)(2)(3)) 27/03/2020

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policy on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes fact, opinion and third-party information. Information must always be recorded in a way that is helpful to the child. The home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraphs 14.4 and 14.5)

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improvement to be good

This is the home’s first inspection. The young people who are currently living at the home have only recently moved in.

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improvement to be good

Admissions to the home are planned, although the registered manager and responsible individual are not making best use of the information available to them from the placing authority. The registered manager and responsible individual do not scrutinise the Inspection report children’s home: 2527654 6 information or seek clarity from other professionals. This means that they do not have the necessary information to make a secure judgement as to whether they can meet a young person’s needs.

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improvement to be good

Furthermore, the impact risk assessments do not accurately reflect the young people’s needs or consider their potential effect on others living in the home. As a result, several young people’s placements have ended as the home could not keep them or others safe. The responsible individual has identified this issue and is taking steps to address this.

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improvement to be good

Staff endeavour to build meaningful relationships with young people. One young person enjoys a positive relationship with specific members of staff and looks forward to spending time with them. However, young people’s ability to create strong and enduring relationships with staff is hindered by the high staff turnover in the home.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s health and well-being are improving. Young people have attended their healthcare appointments and are now up to date with their immunisations and medical check-ups. As a result, one young person is now receiving extensive dental treatment.

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improvement to be good

Young people are listened to and their views are carefully considered and acted on by staff. Staff are talking to a young person about their attendance at ice hockey practice, and the need to leave at a set time to get public transport home.

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improvement to be good

Young people are confident to bring their friends to the home and to spend time with them here. Other young people enjoy activities with staff, such as going to the cinema.

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improvement to be good

Young people are not yet in full-time education. Staff are working with schools, tutors, virtual heads and social workers to ensure that the young people can be reintegrated into formal education. Some young people are engaging with online learning, while others are provided with a tutor. Additional activities are planned to support young people’s education; however, staff do not always make best use of the information contained in the young person’s education healthcare plan to enhance their learning.

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improvement to be good

Young people enjoy spending time with their families and friends who live a considerable distance away from the home. Staff are aware that this is vital to the young people’s emotional health and well-being and facilitate this well.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand their responsibilities in regard to keeping the young people safe and know how to carry these out. Staff are aware of the individual risks associated with each young person. However, information pertaining to concerns around county lines and potential gang affiliation, and what steps are in place to re-educate young people and keep them safe, are not routinely recorded in their risk assessment. Inspection report children’s home: 2527654 7 A recent concern involving a member of staff has not been investigated well. The company’s safeguarding lead has not consistently followed the home’s policy and did not report concerns immediately to the designated person in the local authority.

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improvement to be good

A young person has raised a few concerns and has not had an outcome to their complaints. Furthermore, these concerns have not been recorded in the complaints log. This does not promote transparency.

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improvement to be good

One of the key risks for young people living in the home is being missing from care. However, since coming to live here this risk has significantly reduced. During one significant incident, the registered manager and staff liaised with several police forces to ensure that a young person returned home safely. The police are complimentary about the staff and their joint working during this incident.

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improvement to be good

There are inconsistencies in how staff manage young people’s behaviour. In part, this is due to the lack of information in the young person’s behaviour support plan. There have been some physical interventions, and these appear to have been carried out appropriately. However, the records of these incidents do not contain all the necessary information, such as the outcome and effectiveness of the intervention, or if the staff and the young people involved have been spoken to.

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improvement to be good

Young people live in a family-style home. They have chosen the decor for their bedrooms and this reflects their individual tastes and interests.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment practice is not yet secure. Of the two staff files examined, both contained missing information as to when checks were carried out and who verified the information. The responsible individual is aware of this issue and has employed a human resources company to oversee the recruitment and vetting processes.

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

The registered manager has been in post since the home opened, and during the inspection she spoke of her plans to step down and become the deputy. A new acting manager has been appointed and is working with the registered manager during the transition period.

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

There are numerous shortfalls in record keeping. Records do not tell the story of the young person’s time in the home and staff do not always record all the necessary information. This does not help the young people when they look at their records now, or in the future to understand the care and support that they were provided with.

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

The registered manager, acting manager and responsible individual are all aware of the shortfalls identified at this inspection. They are in the process of devising a development plan to make the necessary improvements, using the information from the independent person’s reports and this inspection. The responsible individual said that they are on a journey and will address these issues. Inspection report children’s home: 2527654 8 The staff have opportunities to engage in online training. The registered manager’s oversight of this training has not been effective. Therefore, the home is not able to demonstrate that the staff have the necessary skills and experience to meet the diverse needs of the young people. Furthermore, staff do not appear to have received training in relation to child criminal exploitation, county lines, self-harm and gangs.

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

The statement of purpose is current and reflects the staff team and the management arrangements. However, Ofsted has not received a copy of the revised statement of purpose.

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

A social worker said that they were pleased with the support that their young person had received since moving into the home. They said that the communication with the registered manager was positive.

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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: 2527654 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Above And Beyond Residential Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 26 Foundry House, Widnes Business Park, Waterside Lane, Widnes, Lancashire WA8 8GT

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Inspector

Chris Scully, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2527654 10 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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