Children's Home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report children's home: SC450728 1 SC450728 Registered provider: Time-Out Children’s Homes 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 owned and managed home for up to two children between the ages of six and 17 years. The home specialises in treatment programmes for children who have had attachment disruptions in early childhood.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2017 and is also the manager of another home.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC450728 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/06/2019 Full Good 05/06/2018 Full Good 23/05/2017 Full Good 11/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC450728 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from the high level of nurture and support offered by the staff and the therapeutic team. The home’s model of care is embedded into staff practice. This enables the children to have continuous therapeutic support while living in a homely environment. Both children have made progress with their emotional well- being as a result.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with the staff team. When describing the home, one child said, ‘You can always open up because staff are supportive; you don’t need to feel awkward.’ Children are open and honest with the staff team which enables the staff to put plans in place to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive support to attend education. One child is engaging with tutors, educational activities and has started to attend school after a significant break from education. The staff provide children with opportunities to learn and develop outside of school and recognise the children’s talents and abilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have moved on positively due to the support given to them from the staff team. The manager ensures that new carers have the support and training needed to meet children’s needs, including training in the model of care the home uses. This provides children with a consistent approach when they leave the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have positive relationships with family and those who are important to them. Staff adapt their approach, when speaking to families, to meet their needs as well as the childs. This has supported families to trust the staff team and to work together, providing a consistent response to the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Daily recordings are easy to understand and provide children with a clear summary of their day. Memory books are created to ensure that children have a record of their time living at the home; messages and comments from staff members and children provide context for the children for when they have moved out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and are aware of the children’s needs and current plans. However, not all the information within children’s care plans and supporting documents is up to date. This is specifically in relation to changes in education plans and the children’s friendship group. This does not provide newer staff members with full guidance as to how to support the children.

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

Staff help children to understand the expectations and boundaries in the home. Staff and the manager understand the importance of having a consistent approach to boundaries in order to reduce the children’s anxiety. Newer staff are supported to understand and maintain these boundaries. Inspection report children's home: SC450728 4 Significant safeguarding incidents have been managed well and safeguards put in place to protect the children when allegations are made. These include removing the staff member from work while investigations take place. The manager has confidently challenged the local authority designated safeguarding lead, following them not sharing information known about a staff member. This lack of information resulted in a child been emotionally harmed by this staff member, despite the provider following all safeguarding precautions.

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

Risk assessments give clear strategies for staff to follow. However, on occasion, information has not always been updated within the risk assessments. For example, one child has recently begun a relationship with a local peer. However, there is no reference to this in the child’s risk assessments and therefore no clear plan as to how staff are to support and manage this. Staff were able to verbally share that they must supervise at all times, but this is not clearly recorded. This could lead to newer staff or agency staff not following the plans in place.

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

Staff work with children to give them the skills to manage and process their emotions. Staff adapt their approach and look at new ways of supporting children. There has been a decrease in restraints, missing-from-home episodes, and aggression because children are able to use these skills and access support.

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

Extensive work is done with the children to understand the importance of e-safety and dangers, both on and off-line. The staff use various methods to help educate children on risks, including formal sessions and the use of TV programmes. This gives the children an understanding of the risks from others and how to keep safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and knowledgeable. The manager shares this with the team and uses this to drive her vision for the home. For example, she has helped staff identify how the records they keep have an impact on the children’s lives. It is clear in children’s records that staff understand the importance of capturing memories for children in a way that is helpful for them in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and the staff. Staff have the necessary skills and training to meet the needs of the children. The manager keeps this under review, working with the therapeutic team to identify any further training needs. The manager focuses on developing the staff team’s skills to further support the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision in line with the statement of purpose. The manager is aware of the staff’s individual needs, both personally and professionally, and puts support in place to address these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager evaluates and identifies areas of improvement in staff practice. This is discussed with the staff members but is not always recorded in detail. This does not provide the staff member with clear reminders of the information given. Also, it does Inspection report children's home: SC450728 5 not enable the manager to take further action if there is a repeat occurrence as there is no record.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings have been virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic which has had a detrimental effect on the sharing of ideas and new research. The most recent team meeting took place face-to-face and enabled the team to share ideas and plans, making positive changes to the plans in place for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager does not always have full oversight or record information correctly. She was unaware that a team chat group was not being used for the purpose intended. She had delegated responsibility for monitoring this without giving clear guidance as to the purpose of the group. The manager did end this group during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Thorough recruitment checks are in place for staff. Any concerns or issues are followed up before employment. Significant safeguarding concerns with a previous staff member have been addressed. There was no other action that the provider could have taken that would have meant this information was known before their employment. Staff have all been reminded of the safeguarding policy in relation to any police involvement and the fact that this must be shared with the company, although this was not recorded in detail.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person's reports do not identify shortfalls in recording or practice. Most of the visit remains virtual with only short visits to the home, the most recent being only 35 minutes. This does not give the independent visitor the time to observe interactions or speak properly to children and staff. This is preventing the manager from having external feedback that would support and improve the quality of care for the children. Inspection report children's home: SC450728 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, the 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, risk assessments should include all known risks. The manager should ensure that staff understand their responsibilities in safeguarding, including updating the manager if they have any police involvement, in line with the DBS and safeguarding policy. 5 December 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the regulation 44 visits and reports review the quality of care and identify any improvements needed to support the manager in improving the quality of care. Visits to the home should not be virtual and should enable the visitor to engage with children and staff, including time to observe practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions are recorded clearly, especially when addressing specific concerns or safeguarding issues. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4) Inspection report children's home: SC450728 7  The registered person should ensure that children’s care plans are updated with changes and that all current information is included, particularly with regard to

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Recommendations

new friendships and education plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: SC450728 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Time-Out Childrens Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Mill Fold, Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge HX6 4DH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Dominic Macauley

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Inspector

Debra Boldy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC450728 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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