Children's Home run by Continuum Support - Care Services Limited in Warrington

Inspection report children's home: 2593623 1 Registered provider: Continuum Support - Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home. It is registered to provide care for one child. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2593623 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently living in the home receives good care from a nurturing staff team who know her well. The child’s needs and vulnerabilities are understood. The inspector observed warm relationships between the child and staff. Staff have created an environment where the child is able to develop positive, trusting relationships with those around her.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has lived in the home for nearly 12 months. She and the staff were proud of the longevity of the placement. The child said, ‘The carers here are amazing, their approach is so gentle.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented and comfortable, with the child choosing the decor and furnishings for the living room and her bedroom. However, the child currently does not have a lock on her bedroom door, despite requesting one. The decision to not install a lock has not been reviewed despite the progress that has been made by the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making progress with her education. One professional said, ‘Staff are concerned about education and they promote it.’ The staff team works closely with teachers and professionals to ensure that they understand the child’s needs and that any issues are addressed. The child has recently begun to attend a local college after a period of time out of formal education. This is significant progress given her starting point.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff promote the health and well-being of the child. She attends routine appointments such as the dentist and optician and has been supported to access other medical services when required. The child’s health needs, specifically her allergies, are understood by staff. The child has also been involved in training for staff to ensure that they are able to use an EpiPen should this be required. While this information is included in the child’s healthcare plan, the specific details in relation to her allergies need to be more prominent in the plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to spend time with the people who are important to her and her family have visited her home. This helps the child to build and sustain relationships with people outside of the home.

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

Individual risk management plans assess the presenting risks and include the strategies staff should use to manage these risks. The management team continues to review these plans to ensure that the identified strategies remain effective in managing known and emerging risks. Inspection report children's home: 2593623 3 Since living at the home, there have not been any incidents of the child being reported as going missing. However, the missing-from-home risk management plan does not incorporate all agreed actions staff should take in the event that the child goes missing. This is because two different documents hold details around the actions staff should take. Consequently, this may delay the staff in taking the most appropriate action.

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

There have been two incidents when police have been called to the home to manage challenging behaviour. Following these incidents, staff and the child have reflected on the impact of the incidents and her behaviour. As a result, trusting relationships between the child and the staff team have developed. The child told the inspector, ‘I know I should never hurt staff.’

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

Sanctions are used sparingly. Staff talk to the child in order to help her to understand the impact of her behaviour. However, when sanctions have been used, the registered manager has not ensured that they are recorded in line with regulation or reviewed for their effectiveness.

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

During the inspection, the front and back door of the home were both locked, meaning that the child would have been unable to independently leave the home in the event of an emergency. The registered manager took immediate action to address this during the inspection, resulting in the child being able to leave the house without staff unlocking the door.

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

Staff are supporting the child to take age-appropriate risks in a planned and safe way. For example, the child has recently been given a mobile phone. A risk management plan and a contract of expectations around the use of the mobile phone were agreed with the child. Additionally, the child is doing online safety work with the NSPCC to further support her understanding and knowledge around the safe use of her mobile.

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

There has been an incident when the child accessed the personal contact details of a member of staff after viewing the staff rota. Action has been taken to prevent further numbers being accessed by the child. The rota no longer has this level of detail and the registered manager has discussed the importance of professional boundaries with the staff team.

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

Staff recruitment procedures are in place to safeguard children. However, one staff recruitment file had some minor shortfalls in the recording of the verbal verification of references and the exploration of the endings of previous employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A committed and experienced registered manager leads the home. He currently manages two homes. He is aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Since starting his role, he has identified the need for additional management presence. A team leader has recently been promoted to the role of Inspection report children's home: 2593623 4 deputy manager to support him. The registered manager is aware of some recording shortfalls but was able to evidence how improvements have been made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended by the team. Records show detailed discussion about the child’s needs and reflection on key areas of risk or concern. Records show the actions arising from these meetings are completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoken to were complimentary about the support they receive from managers. Supervisions take place regularly and staff are supported to reflect on incidents and their own practice. The registered manager has identified further improvements around supervision, which are reflected in the home’s development plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all staff have undertaken training relevant to their role and the specific needs of the child at the home, for example attention deficit hyperactivity disorder training. The registered manager recognised that improvements needed to be made to staff training records to ensure that he has full oversight of when training allocated to staff has been completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The external monitoring of the home has not always supported the manager to drive forward improvements in the home. However, this has been addressed by the organisation and a new independent visitor has recently been appointed. Inspection report children's home: 2593623 5

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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) (2)(a)(i)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that information regarding the child’s allergies is prominent in the relevant plans. Also, that the steps staff are to take in the event the child goes missing are clear. 31 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—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 31 August 2021 Inspection report children's home: 2593623 6 In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff have the necessary training to undertake their role.

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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 the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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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

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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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)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(c)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the records include the time and names of those present when measures have been used and the registered person’s oversight, specifically the review of the effectiveness of such measures. 31 August 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10) Inspection report children's home: 2593623 7  The registered person should ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2593623 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Continuum Support - Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sinclair, 300 St Marys Road, Garston, Liverpool L19 0NQ

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Inspector

Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2593623 9 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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