Children's home run by Warrington Borough Council

Assurance visit report: SC447930 1 SC447930

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural problems. There was one young person living in the home at the time of the inspection. The young person was consulted during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager for the home since February 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection judgement: Requires improvement to be good

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

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Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership.

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Information about this visit

This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assurance visit report: SC447930 2

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Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit.

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The care of children

There is currently one child living at the home, who is happy and settled. The child has friendly and trusting relationships with the interim manager and staff and is able to share her views, wishes and feelings with them. As a result, the child feels valued, well supported and listened to.

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The care of children

The child has been out of full-time education for some time. The interim manager and staff understand the child’s anxieties about returning to mainstream education and have acted to address this. The provider has liaised with the local authority and education and training providers to identify a suitable provision that the child will engage in as well as meeting her educational needs. The home’s manager and staff are currently awaiting a start date for a placement. In the interim, the child is supported and encouraged to engage in educational activities.

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The care of children

There is an activity planner in place to ensure that the child is given opportunities to enjoy herself and have fun, with activities ranging from meals out, theme and adventure parks and a pamper weekend with the staff. This has helped develop relationships between the child and the staff team.

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The care of children

The condition of the child’s bedroom does not demonstrate that the home has daily structured cleaning and tidying routines or that the child is supported and encouraged to build her independence skills. For example, at the time of the visit the bedroom had not been cleaned and tidied and the carpet required replacement. This does not provide a positive and nurturing environment for the child.

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The care of children

The interim manager and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to ensuring that the child is supported to maintain safe contact with important family members, where possible. This supports the child’s emotional well-being and sense of identity.

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The safety of children

The child feels safe and protected from harm. Staff understand the risks to the child’s welfare and have helped her to become increasingly safe. The risks relating to being missing, aggression, criminal and sexual exploitation and antisocial behaviour have reduced significantly.

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The safety of children

The child receives advice and guidance on how to keep herself safe from harm. Staff spend time talking to her about the risks she may face and the strategies to reduce the risks. Furthermore, the child is supported to take age-appropriate risks as part of developing her independence. Assurance visit report: SC447930 3 Although the child’s risk assessment is regularly reviewed and updated, some of the information contained in the risk assessment is inaccurate and out of date. Consequently, there is the potential for this to impact on safeguarding practice. Furthermore, the risk levels in the risk assessment do not demonstrate the progress made and the reduction in risks to the child.

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The safety of children

Staff demonstrate a good level of insight into the child’s emotional responses and behaviours. There are clear, individualised strategies in place to assist staff in supporting the child to develop safe and appropriate behaviours. Staff are encouraged, both individually and as a group, to reflect on their responses when the child displays unsettled or heightened behaviours. This reflection takes place with a view to enhancing practice and identifying successful strategies. As a result, incidents of heightened behaviour rarely reach a crisis point and staff have not been required to use physical intervention.

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Leaders and managers

The home is currently managed by an interim manager and arrangements are in place for a manager to be registered with Ofsted. The interim manager is motivated and enthusiastic and has developed good relationships with the child, staff and stakeholders. She has a good understanding of the needs of the child and the strengths and areas of development for the home and the staff team. The provider has taken sufficient action to address the requirements made at the last inspection.

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Leaders and managers

The manager and staff have managed the restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic sensibly. They have placed the well-being of the child at the centre of their practice and decision-making. They adapt well to the changing government guidance. A consistent and settled staff team has continued to provide continuity of care for the child during the pandemic. Furthermore, cleaning takes place more frequently and hygiene practice has improved at the home, although this was not evident in the child’s bedroom.

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Leaders and managers

Staff receive regular supervision that helps them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the child. The continuous professional development of staff is a priority and staff receive regular training and development opportunities. Team meetings allow the manager and staff the opportunity to discuss the needs and progress of the child, staff practice, and to share information from training and research, which enhances their knowledge and skills. During periods of restriction on face-to-face training, staff have continued to access training in a variety of formats.

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Leaders and managers

The monitoring and review systems at the home help the interim manager to identify the strengths and areas for development for the home and the staff team. The interim manager takes effective action to address shortfalls and build strengths to improve practice and outcomes for the child. However, management oversight is not sufficiently robust as the interim manager failed to identify shortfalls in the child’s risk assessment. Assurance visit report: SC447930 4 The interim manager and staff work collaboratively with professionals who are involved in the child’s care to support positive outcomes for her. Feedback from professionals is positive, praising the management and staff’s commitment to the child and the progress that she makes.

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Leaders and managers

However, the interim manager and staff are unclear as to what information should be shared with family members who the child has a significant amount of unsupervised contact with. Furthermore, the child’s care plan does not demonstrate the level of information-sharing with family members or the rationale for not sharing some information, including safeguarding concerns for the child. This potentially places the child at risk of harm.

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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—

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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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(a)(i)(b)) 21/10/2020

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 21/10/2020 Assurance visit report: SC447930 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and the registered provider—

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)) 21/10/2020

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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;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for leading a team which provides high quality care for all children living in the home. They must lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s Statement of Purpose. They should also play a key role in shaping the ethos of the home through developing a culture of high aspiration for children which is demonstrated through the care, resources and opportunities offered to the children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4). In particular, the child should be supported and encouraged to have a clean and tidy bedroom Assurance visit report: SC447930 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Warrington Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Children’s Services Directorate, New Town House, Buttermarket Street, Warrington, Cheshire WA1 2NJ

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Inspector

Lisa Mulcahy, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC447930 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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