Children's home run by First 4 Care Limited in Doncaster

Inspection report children’s home: SC399586 1 SC399586 Registered provider: First 4 Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to two children who may have learning disabilities and emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. There are currently two children living at the home. The home is run by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in May 2021. A new manager has been appointed but has only been in post a week at the time of this inspection.

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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 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

Date of last inspection: 26 February 2020

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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: SC399586 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2020 Full Good 14/08/2018 Full Good 15/11/2017 Full Good 14/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC399586 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at this home are totally dependent on their caregivers and need ‘round the clock supervision.’ The care provided is individualised, and staff respond well to the specific learning needs and vulnerabilities of the children. As a result, children feel secure and comfortable in their surroundings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child lived at the home for over seven years and during this time formed close attachments with staff. The staff went to great lengths to promote the successful transition of this child into supported adult accommodation. Two members of staff have continued to provide continuity of care and support that enables this young adult to live independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making steady progress in many areas of their lives while acknowledging their significant learning needs. They are thriving and enjoy good physical health. This is due to the consistency of care, good routines, and an active and healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children in every aspect, ensuring their physical and emotional needs are met. Staff advocate for the children and give them a range of experiences, from going to the park, on day trips to the seaside, baking, reading and arts and crafts. Children’s views, wishes and feelings are creatively captured by staff and this informs how they spend their time on a day-to-day basis.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions into and out of the home are well managed and facilitated at the child’s pace. Careful and thorough matching and attention to detail promote the chance of a placement in this home being effective and sustainable. Feedback from parents and the social worker has given credit to the successful matching of the two children who have developed a peer-on-peer friendship for the first time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff recognise the importance of developing and maintaining positive relationships with family and offer high levels of support and supervision. This promotes a sense of stability and belonging for children and makes them feel emotionally safer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s progress that leads to sustained outcomes is achieved by being consistent and repetitive. It is a small-steps approach but ultimately it gives the children the best chance of achieving more independence in their ability to make choices and in their personal care.

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

Risks to the children are well understood and recorded. Staff understand each of the children’s specific vulnerabilities and behaviours that would place them at risk of Inspection report children’s home: SC399586 4 harm. One child is protected by a deprivation of liberty order and through this it safely enhances his freedom of movement both in the home and in the community.

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

Each child has their own individual risk assessment, positive handling and behaviour management plan. This provides clear direction to staff about how to reduce the risk of harm, to avoid hazards and better protect the children.

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

Staff are trained to recognise and understand risk, manage behaviour and promote children’s safety. They work collaboratively with health and social care workers to ensure the care they deliver benefits the children. Staff establish consistent boundaries and routines and use a positive handling approach. This means there has not been a need to physically intervene to manage behaviour.

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

Staff interventions with the children are having a positive impact and incidents of self-injurious behaviour have reduced. Children are given positive praise and lots of encouragement. This approach helps the children to self-regulate their behaviour and they are less likely to become agitated and distressed.

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

Children, by their presentation and demeanour, appear comfortable and relaxed in the home. This is evidenced through their settled sleep routines and through their interactions with each other and with staff.

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good

During the inspection, the inspector identified shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home. The lack of managerial oversight has resulted in staff not receiving regular supervision. In particular, new staff and staff rotas are not done with sufficient notice. Senior managers are aware of this and are beginning to address these issues.

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good

Sufficiency of staff was seen as an area of concern. This has been partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in staff absence and sickness. On occasion, this has had an impact on the level of care afforded to the children. This could have resulted in children coming to harm through a lack of appropriate one-to-one supervision. More attention to staff rotas and the use of agency staff has mitigated the risk of this happening in the future.

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good

The home has been without a manager since May 2021. This has had an impact on staff morale. Some staff have not felt listened to in relation to working long hours and rotas being done at short notice. This could impact on staff retention and children receiving care from people who they are not familiar with.

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good

A new manager has been appointed and is currently progressing her registration. This has been welcomed by the staff. More recently, the area manager has been a source of managerial cover and support alongside the appointment of an interim deputy manager. This has provided some reassurance to staff that their concerns are now being listened to. Inspection report children’s home: SC399586 5 Significant incidents relating to the children seldom happen. This is because staff know the children well and understand their complex needs. However, a recent incident that caused disruption and distress to the children resulted in staff feeling upset and traumatised. Staff involved were not debriefed following this incident and this left them feeling unsupported.

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good

Managers and staff are dedicated and ambitious for the children, both when they are in the home and once they have left the home. They work with professionals and families to ensure the care provided is bespoke and addresses specifically the needs of each individual child. Inspection report children’s home: SC399586 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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

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 has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; and

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)) 24 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and 24 September Inspection report children’s home: SC399586 7 have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. Staff supervision must enable staff to reflect and act on how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. The registered person should ensure that staff are debriefed following a significant incident. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the Quality Standards’, pages 53 and 39, paragraphs 10.11 and 8.15)

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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: SC399586 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: First 4 Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 St. Wilfrids Road, Bessacarr, Doncaster DN4 6AA

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Inspector

Cath Sikakana, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC399586 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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