Children's home run by Halliwell Homes Limited in Staffordshire Moorlands

Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 1 SC043697 Registered provider: Halliwell Homes Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to seven children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home offers on-site education at a registered school.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2018.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 19 November 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/10/2018 Full Good 27/02/2018 Full Good 13/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they trust and like the staff. They said that staff spend a lot of time with them individually. In addition, regular group meetings give children opportunities to raise and discuss any issues or requests they may have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in their education. Staff establish good routines for children, and this supports their attendance and enthusiasm for learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Healthy eating and exercise are fully encouraged by staff. Children particularly value the fun and exciting activities that staff offer. These activities include trips out to the seaside, trampolining, virtual-reality experiences, walking and home activities such as baking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Over time, children make progress in learning how to manage their emotions and live harmoniously with each other. Staff address issues of conflict and complaints promptly. Group activity days and meetings support children’s understanding of bullying and conflict. However, staff have not ensured that individual children continue to feel supported, or that actions taken to address complaints remain successful. In this respect, a professional we spoke to felt one child may need additional support to express their feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, children’s complex needs are understood well by the staff. Social workers were complementary and positive with regard to how well children are supported. One social worker said: ‘This is one of the best placements that I have been able to find for him.’ Another social worker said: ‘She [the child] has made massive progress from her starting point.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children move on from the home in a planned way and experience well-coordinated transitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time discussing pertinent issues or concerns with individual children. There are examples of good practice, for instance, some children have been supported to explore their family histories and backgrounds. However, not all children’s key-working plans are followed. As a result, the recommendation made at the last inspection is restated.

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

Children are safeguarded effectively in respect of child exploitation and incidents of missing from home. Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and their role in protecting them.

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

Since the last visit, improvements have been made with regard to the supervision of children. Staff now follow a clear plan at the start of each day. Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 4 Managers have responded appropriately to allegations and referred matters to the designated officer and local authorities. However, opportunities to review one child’s behaviour support plan with staff, before a placement breakdown, were missed.

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

Managers have recently adopted a new approach to restraint and all staff are trained to use this model. The use of physical intervention by staff has reduced significantly since the last inspection. However, records are not always explicit about why the measure was considered necessary, and a debrief by a manager is not offered to staff on an individual basis.

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

Since the last inspection there have been improvements in how staff respond to children’s behaviours and the use of consequences and sanctions. Children are supported to restore relationships and encouraged in behaviours such as writing apology cards or doing something nice for another child or member of staff.

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good

The manager is very knowledgeable about each child’s plan and understands the children well as individuals. She is supported by skilled deputies who are enthusiastic and committed to the children they care for.

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good

The manager is currently in a period of resignation. In preparation for this, a new manager has been appointed and is working alongside the current manager. Senior managers have also arranged that the current manager will continue to support the home on a part-time basis.

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good

Staff report that they are well supported and there have been improvements in the team working cohesively.

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good

Since the last inspection, most of the requirements and recommendations have been met. However, staff turnover and the use of none-core staff have remained high. Managers are aware of this shortfall and have recently introduced incentives and a scheme to improve staff retention. This has yet to become embedded and be evaluated for its effectiveness.

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good

Staff have access to a wide range of training to support them in their roles. However, not all staff have been trained in supporting children who may present with sexually harmful behaviours.

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good

Managerial oversight of the home has improved since the last inspection, and this has had a positive effect on children’s outcomes and progress. However, evaluation of staff’s actions and their direct work with children would benefit from being improved. For example, ensuring that key-working and behaviour management plans are followed, and that there is appropriate challenge regarding the use of physical intervention. Although children’s plans are updated regularly, not all changes have been shared with the local authorities. Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 5 The home is spacious and offers good outside space for activities. Since the last inspection, improvements have been made to the decor of the home. However, some areas, such as the children’s bathroom and dining room detract from its positive presentation. Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 6

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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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 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)(a)(v)(b)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to staff being given individual debriefs and that records are clear as to the circumstances leading to the restraint. In addition, that staff implement the strategies as described in children’s behaviour support plans. 15 August 2021

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 31 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 7 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to staff receiving training relating to sexually harmful behaviour, and that a stable staff team is achieved.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to refurbishment of the children’s bathroom, refurbishment of the dining room, and children being given choice with regards to use of a headboard. 30 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that changes made to children’s plan are shared with the local authority. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.2)  The registered person should ensure that learning from incidents takes place and that these reviews are shared with all staff to improve practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that key-working sessions are planned in accordance with the child’s identified needs. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13) Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 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: SC043697 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Tape Street, Cheadle, Stoke-on-Trent ST10 1BB

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Inspector

Pauline Yates, Social Care Inspector Charlie Bamber, Social Care Inspector Michael Charnley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC043697 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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