Children's Home run by Next Stage 4Life Limited in Wigan

Inspection report children’s home: 2600759 1 Registered provider: Next Stage 4Life Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home was registered in August 2020. The home provides care for up to two children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Currently, one child lives at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection since registration.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2600759 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child is offered consistent routines and clear boundaries, and this provides her with a sense of security and well-being. Her complex needs are understood well by the staff and the care offered is bespoke to her needs. The child is making progress from her starting point across a wide spectrum of measures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff invest time in listening to the child and observing her responses. This thoughtful care enables staff to adjust and tailor the care to meet her changing and developing needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide a homely and nurturing environment that is child-centred. Decorations and furnishings are reflective of the child’s age and personality. For example, her artwork is displayed in nearly every room and her toys are well looked after by the staff. This offers her a sense of belonging and ownership of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Through living at the home, the child has made progress with regards to her ability to manage her emotions. Staff have responded sensitively to the child’s use of play to express her thoughts and feelings. This progress is underpinned and influenced by the nurturing care she is offered. Staff offer verbal praise and positive messages, and this supports her to develop a positive sense of herself and build emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly seek the child’s input into how the home is run.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

With support from staff, the child has established healthy routines that enable her to participate fully in education. As a result, she enjoys school and learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff manage well a court-directed order that could potentially restrict her freedoms. As a result, the child benefits from and enjoys many positive experiences. Plans are also being developed to enable her to begin a wide range of social activities as COVID-19 (coronavirus) restrictions ease.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s sense of identity is fully supported, and staff regularly promote positive contact with her family in the home. Family members feel welcomed and describe the staff as ‘absolutely brilliant’.

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

The child said that she feels safe at the home, and family members and professionals concur with this view. She benefits from high staffing ratios that ensure her safety and well-being.

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

There have not been any incidents of going missing from home, safeguarding incidents, allegations or complaints since the home was opened. Staff are clear Inspection report children’s home: 2600759 3 about procedures they should follow if they become concerned about children’s safety or welfare.

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

The child is provided with regular opportunities to discuss and reflect with staff on her care. She is also given support to explore her feelings and relationships with staff. As a result, over time the child is beginning to manage her feelings and behaviours. When incidents do occur, staff offer her the opportunity to restore and repair relationships. This supports her sense of age-appropriate responsibility.

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

Since living at the home, the child has experienced a significant reduction in the number of physical interventions that have been necessary. However, records are not always clear with regards to how the child was held or who provided the child with an opportunity to reflect on the incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was registered to manage the home in August 2020 and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are appropriate processes in place that are used to enable the management team to monitor the quality of care being provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to providing bespoke and well-informed care to the child. The management team identifies areas for improvement, and the progress of the child influences and drives the care that is offered by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager takes a hands-on approach to ensuring that the child’s needs are understood and that she feels listened to. The ethos promoted by the manager is one of high aspirations for the child to move beyond the current court-directed restrictions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is very knowledgeable about the plans and individual needs of the child. The team has developed positive working relationships with other professionals to ensure that the child benefits from specialist assessments and services.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals and family members spoke highly of the manager and staff, and said that the manager had been instrumental in providing insight into the complexities of the child’s responses to situations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff value the support and guidance that the management team offers. This has enabled them to remain focused on the needs, welfare and progress of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The emotional impact on staff from their work is recognised by the managers. This is reflected in the changes in how staff are recruited to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is appropriately staffed to meet the child’s needs. However, since the home’s registration, not all staff recruited have had the resilience to continue in their Inspection report children’s home: 2600759 4 role and this has led to a high turnover of staff. Managers are aware of this and have developed a specific recruitment strategy for the home. In addition, they have increased their support and availability to staff. These plans are yet to be fully embedded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although new staff benefit from an induction process, this is in the main functional in its approach. As a result, there are missed opportunities to provide a reflective approach to staff development. In addition, some new members of staff have not received supervision and reviews of their probationary period in line with the provider’s expectations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose has not been appropriately reviewed. For example, it is not accurate in terms of its registration criteria, refers to another of the provider’s homes and has not been updated with regards to the changes in staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The physical environment is maintained to a high standard, and is welcoming and child-focused. Inspection report children’s home: 2600759 5

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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, the 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—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to reducing the high turnover of staff at the home. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that the statement of purpose does not contain references to other homes, is accurate with regards to the number of children it is registered to provide care for and is updated in respect of staff working at the home. 14 May 2021

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Requirement Due date

Within five 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)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager or designated person signing the debrief that takes place with the child. 14 May 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2600759 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that new members of staff receive supervision in line with company expectations. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff benefit from qualitative induction plans when addressing trends or patterns of turnover of staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.19)

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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: 2600759 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Next Stage 4Life Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Regency House, 45–53 Chorley New Road, Bolton BL1 4QR

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Inspector

Pauline Yates, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2600759 8 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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