Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report children's home: SC032083 1 SC032083 Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately run and registered to care for up to three children who may experience emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 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: 13 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not judged

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Three compliance notices were issued and monitored following the last full inspection. A restriction of accommodation was imposed until a manager and a sufficient, trained staff team were in place. The restriction was lifted once the regulator was assured that the home was sufficiently resourced by a trained workforce to meet the needs of any children placed. Inspection report children's home: SC032083 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/02/2020 Interim Not judged 06/11/2019 Full Inadequate 12/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC032083 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child lives at the home and is making progress. She is developing independent living skills and responds well to incentives to gain rewards for her achievements. She now has a pet and was praised for her research into how to care for it responsibly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child continues to attend her previous school. There is good liaison between the home and education staff, to ensure that professionals share an overview of her progress and any concerns. The staff support her with homework and encourage her learning so that she can achieve the grades required for her career aspirations. They arranged for an external professional to visit to talk to the child about the job role. The staff are creative in designing resources to support informal learning and use visual aids to support the child’s understanding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the challenges of restrictions due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), the team has ensured that the child is registered with all health professionals and supports her to attend any appointments, including those with specialist services. The staff recognise and monitor the child’s emotional well-being. They have developed positive relationships, so that the child feels able to trust the staff and speak about her fears and worries. The staff help her to become more self-aware and support her to find strategies to manage her feelings positively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys a range of activities with the staff and attends clubs in her home area to maintain her long-term interests. She sees the people who are important to her, either in person or via video calls.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand the importance of the child maintaining her sense of identity and connection to her home area. For example, on Shrove Tuesday, rather than celebrating with pancakes, they made an alternative that the child said was more typically eaten at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is clearly at the centre of staff practice. She is consulted on a regular basis and is involved in reviewing her progress using child-friendly resources. Her bedroom is personalised to her taste. The staff are collating photographs and other documents to record her time spent living in the home. Staff are genuinely proud of the child’s achievements, however small. The staff advocate for her appropriately and ensure she has access to an independent advocate.

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

Managers and staff members understand the child’s risks and needs well. Plans provide clear guidance on how the staff should respond to any safeguarding concerns. Inspection report children's home: SC032083 4 There have been no safeguarding incidents since the child arrived at the home. The staff demonstrate an understanding of their roles and responsibilities in providing safe care that meets the child’s needs and recognises her vulnerabilities.

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

Consistent boundaries are in place that help the child to develop a sense of stability and safety. She responds well to staff guidance about keeping safe. The child has completed some work with an external service on keeping herself safe from exploitation. Staff have taken presenting opportunities to check her learning from this external support.

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

The manager appropriately advocates for the child to take managed risks to promote her independence and understanding of how to keep herself safe. For example, she now has short periods of unsupervised time so that she can interact with peers, in line with other children of her age.

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

Although permission was provided by the child’s social worker, a bedroom door alarm has been used without an assessed need. The manager took immediate action to ensure it was no longer used at night.

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

The manager and staff work effectively with external safeguarding agencies to ensure that they remain up to date with any local risks or concerns. The information is regularly updated in the review of the home’s location. However, the document still contains some unnecessary information. The manager is taking action to make it more bespoke to the home, rather than the provider’s generic format.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an enthusiastic, knowledgeable and assertive manager. She has a clear and ambitious vision of how she wants to develop the home. She has been determined to make the required improvements following the last full inspection. The manager feels well supported by the responsible individual and other managers within the company, as well as her team. She and her deputy provide a strong leadership team within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensured that safer recruitment processes were followed in recruiting the team. Most of the staff are new and say that the manager and her deputy are very supportive. The team members have a diverse range of skills, which they are encouraged to share, to develop the whole team’s practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team proactively used the time when the home was closed to develop a positive team culture and atmosphere. The robust induction included a broad range of training, workshops, and role play to support the team’s learning. Some of the staff supported other homes owned by the provider that were affected by staff shortages due to COVID-19. They shared good practice that they had experienced on returning to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Newer staff are enrolled on a suitable qualification and are making good progress. Some staff have exceeded timescales for completion of the required qualification; Inspection report children's home: SC032083 5 however, this is partly due to restrictions under COVID-19. They have now completed their studies and are awaiting final assessment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision is regular and reflective. The staff say their views are considered and responded to. Team meetings are held regularly and include a focus on practice in the home. The staff report that they feel supported to develop professionally and to use their skills creatively. The manager empowers them to take an active role within all aspects of providing safe and individualised care. There is a clear sense of collective ownership in the team and a passion to deliver high-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has developed positive working relationships with other professionals. The manager will advocate for the child and challenge others working with the child to ensure good multi-agency working. External stakeholders, including social workers, independent reviewing officers, advocates and police officers, are positive about levels of communication and the progress of the young person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses internal and external monitoring systems effectively to drive continuing improvement in the home. She ensures that all plans are regularly reviewed and monitors the child’s progress. Inspection report children's home: SC032083 6

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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 requirements are that— the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained— the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"). (Regulation 32 (3)(b)(4)(a)) 04 June 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if— the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child's need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d)) 04 June 2021

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Recommendations

 The provider should ensure that the review of the location and premises focuses on the risks and management strategies for managing them that are relevant to the home. Any unnecessary risk categories should be removed to ensure that the review is clear, concise, and bespoke to the home. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: SC032083 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Fifth Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Anthony Armstrong

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Inspector

Karen Willson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC032083 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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