Children's home run by Next Stage 4Life Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2602585 1 Registered provider: Next Stage 4Life LTD Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is one of several owned and managed by a private provider. The home provides care and support for up to two children.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since September 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: 2602585 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2602585 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive and trusting relationships with staff. One social worker said that their child is incredibly happy here, is much more confident, has made friends in the area and is enjoying life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A child said that the staff are the best thing about the home, ‘They (staff) look after me. We are a happy, weird, bizarre home, and the staff are great.’ Children are thriving because of the caring and nurturing environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional health and well-being are improving. Children are much more able to talk about how they are feeling, which has improved their confidence and self-esteem. One child said that because they feel safe here, they can talk to a therapist as they know the staff will support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning is secure because staff understand the diverse needs of each child. Staff actively listen to the children and take on board their requests. Children are encouraged to contribute to their plans and the decisions being made about their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the manager’s efforts, there are difficulties in receiving the minutes of meetings from one placing authority. This issue has now been escalated to the operations manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into the home are well planned and take into careful consideration the views of the children living here and professionals. Consequently, children settle in quickly and their placements are successful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are strong supporters of children’s education. They work hard with the children and other professionals to ensure that children receive the right support and can overcome any barriers to their learning. One child gained a range of GCSEs, which has enabled them to start a childcare course at college. Another child is now attending mainstream school because of the fabulous support they received from staff. This support and encouragement are significantly improving children’s future life choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive an extremely good level of support to maintain important relationships. Staff listen to children’s wishes and help children to spend extra time with family and friends. In addition, children are encouraged to have their family and friends spend time with them at the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2602585 4

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

The manager and staff have created a safe home environment that protects children from harm. Children feel safe and have a strong sense of belonging. They know that they can talk to staff about their worries and that the staff will help them to be safe. There is clear evidence of risks to most children’s safety and well-being reducing over time, particularly risks relating to children going missing from home .

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

There have been a few episodes of children going missing from home. The manager and staff are proactive in using every available piece of information to find them and return them home safely. Staff reflect upon the incident and take effective action to prevent a reoccurrence. However, this action is not always recorded in the missing- from-home records. One child said that they do not need to go missing as they know that they can talk to the staff about anything.

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

Staff have a secure understanding of child protection and safeguarding practice. They are confident to report any concerns to the appropriate professionals and to escalate a concern if they feel that it is not being taken seriously.

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

Thorough recruitment procedures ensure that all employees undergo rigorous background checks prior to being offered employment. These measures help to protect children from harm.

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

Children live in a warm and welcoming family environment. However, the home has not completed a fire drill when a new child arrived. This is an oversight and is being rectified. The home reflects the unique personalities and styles of the children. Children are proud of where they live and described it is as ‘cosy, happy and safe’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a qualified and committed registered manager and deputy who are passionate about the care of children. It is apparent that their enthusiasm is inspiring the staff to do all that they can for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from external professionals, such as social workers, is highly positive. They describe good levels of communication and express satisfaction with children’s care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoke confidently about their roles and demonstrated a high level of commitment to the children they work with. Staff told the inspector that the managers were approachable and available to support them when necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff confirm that they regularly benefit from one-to-one supervision sessions and team meetings. However, on one occasion, a new member of staff did not receive one-to-one supervision in line with the company’s policy. Staff also express satisfaction with the training that they have received. Inspection report children’s home: 2602585 5 During some conversations, staff used inappropriate or outdated language to describe a child’s gender, culture or ethnicity. This is not reflective of the caring environment staff are providing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some shortfalls were identified in relation to the standard of record-keeping in the home. In some examples, unhelpful language was used. In others, records of events were not as clear as they could have been.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal monitoring is sound. Shortfalls are promptly identified and addressed. Monitoring by the independent person is constructive. This helps to ensure that children live in a home which is constantly improving. Inspection report children’s home: 2602585 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c)) 12 November 2021

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that the persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedures to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d)) 12 November 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 12 November 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any debriefs with children following incidents of being missing from home contain sufficient information to demonstrate what happened and the action they have taken to support the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 46, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should ensure that staff have access to appropriate facilities and resources to support their learning in relation to gender, culture and ethnicity. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report children’s home: 2602585 7  The registered person should ensure that records tell the story of the child’s time in the home and that they are signed and dated by the member of staff making the entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards. In particular the key worker and discussion records page 62,

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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: 2602585 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Next Stage 4Life LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Regency House, 45-53 Chorley New Road, Bolton BL1 4QR

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Inspector

Chris Scully, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2602585 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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