Children's Home run by Full Circle Care Limited in Tameside

Inspection report children's home: SC396104 1 SC396104 Registered provider: Full Circle 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 owned and managed by a private company. The home provides care and support to six children who can no longer live at home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in July 2019.

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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: 12 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children's home: SC396104 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/11/2019 Full Good 25/09/2018 Full Outstanding 12/07/2017 Full Good 15/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC396104 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Five children live in this home. Three children spoke with the inspector and said that the good care that they receive is making a positive difference to their lives. The children live in a home that is very nurturing and caring. One child said, ‘I love it here.’ Another child said, ‘It is a great place to live.’ This was echoed by several social workers. One social worker said, ‘He always tells me that he likes living here and how great the staff are.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When a child moves into or out of the home, a good transition is planned. An impact risk assessment shows that the home considers the child’s history and behaviour and the needs of the existing children in the home. However, the manager has not considered the home’s location area report as part of this process. As a result, she has not considered any identified potential risks and whether these would have any bearing on the suitability of the placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff’s strong relationships with a range of external professionals mean that children receive well-planned care that promotes improved outcomes across all aspects of their lives. Good levels of therapeutic support provide individual children with a strong platform that is supporting them to overcome their past difficulties, develop a positive self-view and increase their emotional resilience. Staff regularly consult with the home’s clinical psychologist. The clinician provides guidance, training, support and understanding to staff working with a range of issues and behaviours that children present. In addition to this, children participate in art therapy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that their views, wishes and feelings are taken seriously. They have opportunities to talk to staff, and they are encouraged to comment on all aspects of their care. Records that are kept in the home show the progress that children are making. However, there is little information on how this progress is achieved. Therefore, this does not show a child’s journey throughout their stay at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of experiences for children is good. Although the children have restrictions on their freedom and movements, staff understand that taking part in social activities is necessary for their growth and social interaction. Therefore, staff work extremely hard to help the children to access a range of activities and youth clubs and have holidays in a safe way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are being prepared for becoming independent. For example, they are routinely involved in shopping, helping to prepare meals, doing their laundry and helping with chores in the home. Transition plans are being formulated for the children who will be moving on soon.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and decorated and furnished to a good standard. The children take pride in their home and help with chores. They personalise their bedrooms, which gives them a sense of belonging. Inspection report children's home: SC396104 4

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

The children are very positive about the care they receive and say that they feel safe living in the home. Children have built strong and trusting relationships with the staff, who listen to them and invest time in them daily. One child said, ‘It comforts me to know that staff care about me and this makes me feel safe.’ Children said that they can talk to any member of staff if they are worried or feel unsafe.

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

Safeguarding practice at the home is good, and it keeps the children safe from harm. The children understand that safeguards, such as one-to-one staffing and restrictions on internet use, are needed to keep them safe. Staff undertake regular training in a range of safeguarding topics. As a result, they understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting the children. When serious incidents occur in the house, the staff team is adept at managing them safely.

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

All safeguarding incidents and any allegation against a member of staff or child are taken seriously. Robust protocols are followed and all professionals are informed. The manager initiates strategy meetings so that everyone is aware of concerns and a collective view is taken. Social workers said that multi-agency working and communication are strong features of the home.

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

Generally, risk assessments are good, and members of staff help the children to understand risk and how to keep themselves safe. However, the record is not clear because there are several aspects of unsafe behaviour recorded in one section, and the strategies and actions staff need to take are jumbled together. Therefore, it is not clear which action or strategy relates to which behaviour. As a result, there are no clear strategies or guidance for staff on each individual method to be used to manage different incidents.

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

There have been a few occasions when children have left the home without permission. Staff follow the child’s individual missing-from-home protocol and liaise closely with police and other agencies if a child is missing. Staff act swiftly because of the nature of the risks associated with the children. Due to good partnership relationships, the police are quick to respond. Staff follow all relevant processes proficiently. Return interviews are completed by an independent person. This means that the children can share the reasons why they went missing and any concerns they have.

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

Behaviour-management plans show how children would like to be supported if they become anxious or distressed. Children are given opportunities to put things right. For example, if they damage property, they are given the opportunity to help repair it. This helps them to learn that there are consequences to their actions and builds skills in property maintenance. Children’s positive behaviour is continually promoted and rewarded at the home.

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

Safe recruitment and health and safety practices at the home mean that only suitable staff work with children and that the home is a safe place to live. Inspection report children's home: SC396104 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified manager who has the experience to undertake her role. She is supported by two senior members of staff. There is a clear management structure. They work together to support one another and complement their skill sets, which has a positive impact on the staff team and the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have a recognised childcare qualification. Training and development opportunities are detailed and thorough. Therapeutic support from the clinician provides additional support to staff. The manager provides regular supervision that is reflective in nature. However, the home’s workforce plan does not detail the timescales for supervision of staff, induction or probation periods.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Collectively, members of staff report that they are supportive of one another and are happy to come to work. Staff are positive, focused and enjoy their work, and they help children to feel confident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, children’s records reflect their care plans and the progress they are making. However, some records have not been signed or dated by the author, the manager or the social worker. For example, one child’s local authority consent for emergency medical treatment is not signed by the social worker. This does not ensure that the child would receive immediate attention from a hospital, if required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She makes effective use of both external and internal monitoring to ensure that good standards of care practice are maintained. However, the manager does not routinely use the views of the children, their parents or stakeholders in her six- monthly monitoring of the home. In addition to this, the independent regulation 44 visitor does not routinely evaluate all the records maintained in the home. For example, missing-from-home records are sometimes recorded as a date rather than discussing the quality of the record. This does not affect the good standards of care that the children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Highly effective relationships with social workers, psychologists and therapists mean that children receive well-planned care that promotes improved outcomes across all aspects of their lives. Feedback from stakeholders, at this inspection, was extremely positive. One social worker said, ‘I cannot fault them. They go the extra mile.’ Another said, ‘I cannot speak highly enough of them. They are fantastic.’ Inspection report children's home: SC396104 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 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that the safer area report is used in conjunction with a child’s impact risk assessment, to ensure that the area is safe for them. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 30 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Specifically, ensure that staff have clear guidance on the action to take, if an incident was to occur. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should understand that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Specifically, ensure that the steps taken by staff to secure good progress and outcomes are clearly Inspection report children's home: SC396104 7 recorded within the child’s documents. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff play a key role in supporting children in line with their personal education plan or educational health plan.

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Recommendations

Specifically, ensure that any actions and any relevant information from these education plans informs the home’s education plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.3)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring. In particular, ensure that regulation 44 reports are evaluative and that regulation 45 reports include consultation with children and stakeholders. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: SC396104 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Full Circle Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Danielle Barton-Crump

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Inspector

Pam Nuckley, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC396104 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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