Children's home run by Young Foundations Limited in Wirral

Assurance visit report: SC068410 1 SC068410

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered for six young people. At the time of the visit, five children were living in the home. The home provides care for young people aged 11 to 18 who have mental health and learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A new experienced manager has recently been appointed and is in the early stages of their induction at the time of the visit. The manager holds a common foundation in nursing, level 3 NVQ in children and young people and is working towards completing a level 5 diploma in leadership and management. The manager confirmed he will be making an application to Ofsted to become registered.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection date: 4 February 2020

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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. 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: SC068410 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

Staff continue to support children to keep in touch with their family during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff share information with parents to ensure that they are informed of their child’s progress. Managers consult with parents and children’s placing authorities about things that matter. For example, the manager sought permission from relevant parties to use a surveillance application on children’s phones to keep children safe online. This has been agreed and is working well.

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The care of children

Children are developing trusting relationships with staff and managers. Staff use key-work sessions and activities to build positive relationships. Managers and staff are working hard to ensure that children feel that their views and wishes are listened to. Staff encourage children to meet on a regular basis to discuss issues that are important to them. Children have access to a comments post box which supports them to share compliments, concerns or complaints This enables children to raise issues with the manager about the care that they receive. When children do raise concerns, these are acted on.

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The care of children

Children attend school and continue to learn. Children have progressed from learning in the on-site school and now attend the organisation’s main school in a community setting. Staff and teachers are working together to prepare one child to enrol on a course in a mainstream college. This will support the child to achieve the qualification relevant to her chosen career path. Managers work with virtual school staff when there is a change in a child’s circumstance and a review of their education plan is undertaken. This ensures that children’s individual education needs are met and this maximises their learning opportunities.

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The care of children

Staff and managers promote children’s health needs well. Children attend routine health appointments. However, staff do not consistently record appointments attended in children’s written plans. As a result, there is not a clear audit trail in relation to all aspects of children’s health. Children’s prescribed medication is given by staff in line with the prescriber’s directions. Staff undertake regular medication checks to ensure that safe working practices are effective. This is helping children to stay well and staff are promoting the health and well-being needs of children.

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The care of children

The manager fully considers the needs of new children alongside those already living in the home. This helps to ensure that all children’s care needs can be met by staff. During the COVID-19 pandemic, technology was used to support children to meet staff and view the home before they moved. As a result, children have positive experiences of moving in to the home. Assurance visit report: SC068410 3

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The safety of children

Children know how to make a complaint. Staff and managers support them to express their concerns. Managers take children’s concerns seriously and share information with social workers and the designated officer as necessary. Outcomes of investigations are not consistently well recorded. For example, it was not clear from one record which aspects of a complaint were upheld and which were not. While the manager could articulate what happened, unclear records means that there is no clear audit trail for future reference.

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The safety of children

Occasionally, staff use physical intervention to prevent children from hurting themselves or other people. Physical intervention records do not consistently evaluate the effectiveness of the measure used and lack a detailed description of the hold applied. This makes it difficult to understand if the measure used was proportionate and safe.

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The safety of children

Managers and staff understand children’s individual plans well. Risk assessments are detailed and provide information and guidance for staff to identify risks. Strategies for staff are clear and staff implement these effectively. As a result, children’s risky behaviour, such as self-harm, has reduced in frequency and severity.

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Leaders and managers

There has been some instability in the home’s management structure since the full inspection in February 2020. However, this is an improving picture. A new manager has recently been appointed and has now commenced his role. The manager will receive support from the regional manager during his induction period to provide consistency to children.

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Leaders and managers

Managers have a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Children’s well-being and safety is fundamental to managers and staff and this drives improvement.

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Leaders and managers

Although multi-disciplinary meetings are held regularly to discuss children’s progress, one child’s social worker said that, in between meetings, staff do not always communicate with them about important events. This means that all relevant individuals are not kept as up to date as possible about key issues affecting children.

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Leaders and managers

Managers use individual supervision and team meetings to support staff to reflect on their practice and review the children’s needs and progress. Staff confirmed that they have regular supervision and receive written notes of the discussion held. Staff feel supported and this creates a positive environment for children.

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Leaders and managers

The provider is managing the COVID-19 pandemic well. The manager notified relevant organisations, including Public Health England, when individuals in the home contracted the infection. Managers and staff implemented the guidance offered by specialist advisers and children and staff have recovered well. Staff and visitors’ temperatures are taken prior to entering the home and face masks are worn by staff and visitors to reduce the risk of contracting or spreading the infection. A Assurance visit report: SC068410 4 strict cleaning schedule has been implemented, and this includes a focus on ‘touch points’ being sanitised on an hourly basis. During the two national lockdowns and when there were confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the home, visitors were restricted. To ensure that there remained some independent monitoring of the home, the independent person used technology to complete virtual visits. This helped to

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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 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 (3)) 10 January 2020

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Recommendations

 Case records must be kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  It is crucial that the home works in close partnership with all those who play a role in protecting and caring for the child, but particularly the child’s local authority and statutory social worker. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3)  Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Young Foundations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7 Grosvenor Street, Chester CH1 2DD

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Inspector

Helen Malanaphy, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC068410 6 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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