Children's home run by Outbound Care

Inspection report children’s home: 2507889 1 Registered provider: Outbound Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to accommodate one young person who may have emotional or behavioural needs.

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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: None Inspection report children’s home: 2507889 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

N/A N/A N/A Inspection report children’s home: 2507889 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child; and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to cleaning the landing walls, securing the loft hatch and repairing damaged fencing panels. 30/04/2020

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff 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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(b)(i)) 30/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 30/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(30) applies to the home, paragraph (1) does not apply; and the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(a)(b)) 30/03/2020

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Recommendations

 Expectations of standards of behaviour should be high for all staff and children in the home. These standards should be clear and unambiguous. Positive behaviour Inspection report children’s home: 2507889 4 and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged; poor behaviour should be challenged and discussed. Sanctions need to be clearly identified and recorded. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11)  All managers working in a children’s home must have the qualification in regulation 28(2) within the relevant timescales listed in regulation 28(3). All staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.12)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and

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Recommendations

understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, team meeting minutes need to evidence the progress of previous actions. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The design of the home should provide staff who sleep in the home overnight with appropriate accommodation and facilities to do so. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.26)

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improvement to be good

The home offers solo placements for young people. The home has accommodated four young people since it opened in July 2019. No young people were living in the home during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Only one young person has remained at the home for a significant time. Three young people have experienced short stays in the home, with disrupted placements. Notice has been served on three placements due to the staff’s inability to manage Inspection report children’s home: 2507889 5 the complex needs and risk levels presented by the young people. The staff team has supported the young people’s transition into their next home.

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improvement to be good

Within the current referral process, there is a lack of robust analysis of young people’s needs. This contributes to inappropriate placements progressing and leading to placement disruption. Further exploration of the young people’s needs at the point of referral would ensure that the home is an appropriate home for each individual.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s progress is difficult to monitor due to the short time spent living in the home. Three young people did not have the opportunity to engage in education due to the length of time they were living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Young people who live here benefit from living in a homely, comfortable environment. However, there is evidence of wear and tear to the property, which detracts from the rest of the home. The home is arranging the necessary repairs and redecoration of the internal landing walls, which are stained, and the loft hatch, which is unsecured. The fencing panels in the garden require repair following recent storm damage, to help provide a private outdoor space.

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improvement to be good

Young people have positive relationships with staff. The staff team are motivated and passionate about the young people they support. Staff are beginning to work together within a newly established team. Suitable staffing levels ensure that young people have staff support when they need it. Many of the staff are new and inexperienced. However, they are supervised and well supported to address young people’s needs.

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improvement to be good

Young people are supported to access appropriate healthcare services. Staff work to educate young people about maintaining their own good health. Staff make appropriate referrals to services, such as substance misuse agencies, in line with young people’s needs.

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improvement to be good

While risk assessments are individualised and detailed, the recommended strategies are not always checked for compatibility. For example, a young person’s deprivation of liberty safeguards order (DOLS) included permission for carers to remove the young person’s mobile phone to help safeguard her. This was not cross-checked against the generic contract that the home has with the same young person on their mobile phone use, and this contract gives them free access to a mobile phone. This would have been confusing for the young person in question. Furthermore, the home does not have a record of the number for the young person’s mobile telephone, as she would not disclose that information to staff. Each young person has an individualised missing from care risk assessment, which means staff are clear on the appropriate actions to take. Inspection report children’s home: 2507889 6 Staff follow health and safety procedures. Staff have completed regular fire drills,

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improvement to be good

and there are appropriate fire risk assessments in place. However, additional fire risks posed by some young people are not detailed within the home’s fire risk assessment. This prevents all potential fire risks being identified and managed. The home is not currently fully compliant with the fire safety risk assessment, because there is no effective emergency lighting system in place.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a positive relationship with external agencies. There is clear evidence of inter-agency working to safeguard young people. Staff work closely with the police missing from home coordinator. A meeting was arranged to share information in relation to one young person and the risks posed to him within the local community. This helped to ensure that risks were effectively managed by both the home and the police.

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improvement to be good

There is good evidence that young people are encouraged to share their thoughts, wishes and feelings. Key-working sessions are regular and personalised and cover key topics, including the importance of taking medication, hygiene, and managing aggression and self-harm.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of physical intervention have been appropriately and effectively recorded. There is evidence of discussion and debriefs being completed with young people. This helps young people to engage in self-reflection and take ownership of their behaviour. A high number of physical interventions were necessary for a young person with extremely high levels of self-harm, and one young person who was subject to a DOLS.

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improvement to be good

Clear reward systems are in place to motivate young people to follow routines and display positive behaviour. However, sanctions, including rationing young people’s access to the internet, need to be clearly documented to ensure that young people fully understand the consequences for less desirable behaviour.

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good

The registered manager post has been vacant since July 2019. The current manager is temporarily managing the home. He is suitably qualified and demonstrates a clear commitment to young people. The current manager is being supported by another manager from one of the organisation’s other homes.

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good

The staff feel well supported. Staff value the training that is offered to them. One staff member commented, ‘I love how much training there is; there is a full range of courses online on the training hub, and also face to face.’ The majority of the current staff team are unqualified but are enrolled or working towards their level 3 qualification. One staff member needs to complete the qualification by April 2020 to meet the required two-year timescale. Inspection report children’s home: 2507889 7 Staff are enthusiastic and motivated and genuinely care about the young people they support. One staff member commented, ‘I love working here; I have found my place to be.’

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good

There is a high level of effective internal recording systems in place. This helps to ensure an in-depth knowledge of young people’s needs and outcomes. However, some shortfalls were identified in ensuring that the statement of purpose accurately reflected the skills and abilities of the current staff team, and also in ensuring that there is accuracy in the recording of the Annex A data.

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good

A second sleep-in member of staff currently sleeps on a temporary bed in the home’s lounge area. This means that young people cannot access the ground floor during the night without disturbing staff. Carers sleeping downstairs, do not have the same level of privacy as those using the designated office/sleep-in room, and the arrangement does not provide security for staff’s personal possessions during the night. Inspection report children’s home: 2507889 8

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: 2507889 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Metropolitan Business Park, Preston New Road, Blackpool, Lancashire FY3 9LT

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Inspectors

Suzanne Birchall, Social Care Inspector Karen Forster, Social Care Inspection Manager Inspection report children’s home: 2507889 10 to 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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