Children's Home run by XYP Childcare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 2583518 1 Registered provider: XYP Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care for up to two children of either gender. It is operated by a private provider. The home and manager were registered by Ofsted in May 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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 10 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2583518 2

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improvement to be good

Children cared for at this home have previously lived in several other children’s homes. Their past homes were no longer able to provide care for them due to their high level of needs, vulnerability and unsafe behaviours. In line with their starting points, children have made positive progress. However, the shortfalls identified in safeguarding and leadership and management have impaired their overall experiences.

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improvement to be good

Children who were previously not engaged in education have been supported and encouraged to re-engage. One child is currently attending college and is completing courses in public services, mathematics and English. Children are also able to gain formal awards for practical and life skills such as paddle-craft, abseiling, anger awareness and cooking. This promotes good routines and provides children with valuable skills and qualifications for their future.

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improvement to be good

Children’s emotional and mental health needs are being addressed. Children are benefiting from the specialist therapies and sessions available to them. Managers and staff value the input from clinical and therapeutic practitioners and are fully engaged with this.

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improvement to be good

Children participate in extra-curricular activities. Staff help children to engage in things like camping and making music videos, as well as undertaking voluntary and mentoring roles. This means that children are engaging in meaningful tasks which serve to improve their self-esteem and confidence.

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improvement to be good

One child moved from the home quickly. Leaders and managers had worked hard to maintain this child placement. However, this child’s level of risk-taking behaviours was too high and his safety was affected. The move occurred during an episode of the child being missing from home, when the child was relocated by the police. No action was taken to directly contact the child following this and not all steps were taken to attempt to improve the circumstances of his departure from the home. This does not demonstrate, as far as possible, that children have positive moves from the home.

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improvement to be good

Another child moved into the home in an emergency. There is no assessment which demonstrates whether the home can meet this child’s needs effectively or ensure their safety. As a result, not all risks presented by this child have been fully considered or mitigated prior to them moving into the home. This reduces children’s safety and increases the potential for further placement breakdowns. Inspection report children’s home: 2583518 3

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improvement to be good

Information available about children suggests that they are at significant risk of exploitation. Assessments are not in place to determine the likelihood or severity of these risks. Furthermore, risk assessments that are in place do not include all the relevant and necessary information. A lack of detailed assessment hinders the oversight of children’s risk-taking behaviours and reduces their safety and well- being.

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improvement to be good

There are no robust procedures in place to manage the unsafe behaviours displayed by one child. Staff spoken to at the time of the visit were knowledgeable about children’s behaviours, however, they admitted to making judgement calls at a time when the child was in crisis and had expressed that they wanted to harm themselves. This does not demonstrate that well-thought-through and agreed behaviour management strategies are in place to reduce incidents and protect children from harm.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children going missing from home have occurred often. Staff have responded well to these and have been proactive in contacting, searching for and locating children. Children are welcomed back to the home and are given the opportunity to speak to someone external from the home. Instances of children going missing from home are reducing in frequency and severity. They reflect a significant reduction when compared with children’s historical behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Managers support and encourage children to spend quality time with staff they have made connections with. Because of this, children have made some strong positive relationships with key members of the team. Children are engaged and occupied by staff and have someone to talk to that they trust. Because of this, professionals confirm that children are spending more time engaging in constructive activities and education and that their risks are reducing.

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improvement to be good

The high level of vigilance provided by staff has increased understanding around children’s risk-taking behaviours and helps them to gain more context. For example, staff acted quickly on two occasions, when they took pictures and recorded and reported details of an unknown vehicle associated with a child living at the home. This has led to identifying the driver and provided vital information about the child’s associates. The vigilance and attention to detail shown by staff has led to several discoveries which have served to help, protect and safeguard children.

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good

This is the home’s first full inspection. The registered manager has overseen the home since its registration in May 20. He has the necessary experience to fulfil his role and is in the process of completing the necessary qualification. The manager is dual registered and oversees another home within the organisation. He spends sufficient time at this home and is available to children and staff. Inspection report children’s home: 2583518 4 Recruitment processes are not robust. Not all required references for those working with children have been obtained or requested. Failure to follow safer recruitment practices has the potential to have an impact on children’s safety and welfare. The organisation is currently taking steps to strengthen recruitment systems and at the time of the inspection was able to demonstrate some positive changes.

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good

Staff have not undertaken all necessary training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to support and protect children. This includes training in self-harm, ligature, substance misuse and criminal exploitation. This means that staff have not been formally trained to use ligature cutters and do not have an in-depth understanding of the current risks presented to and displayed by children living in the home. While children have not yet been affected by this, this has the potential to have a significant impact on their health and safety. Some training was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been rebooked and staff are due to attend.

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good

There has been one incident in which a child disclosed abuse outside of the home. There are specific and agreed procedures in place to discuss and investigate these disclosures with the child. However, the manager failed to notify Ofsted of this significant and serious incident. This does not allow for effective oversight or monitoring and review by the regulator.

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good

Multi-agency working is a key strength of leaders and managers. Over recent months, the manager has committed to daily multi-agency meetings to facilitate information-sharing and discussions about children. The manager has solidified good working relationships with key professionals. Additionally, the manager advocates for children. He professionally challenges those who may misrepresent children or those who are not fulfilling their roles adequately. This ensures services are working together to meet the needs of the children and ensures children are receiving the services they need and deserve.

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good

Monitoring and review systems have failed to identify shortfalls in documentation and safeguarding. The requirements made at the previous inspection have been restated. Leaders and managers are keen to improve the quality of care and protection afforded to children in this home. Steps were taken at the time of the inspection to begin to address the shortfalls identified. Inspection report children’s home: 2583518 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure all necessary risk assessments are competed. Provide staff with clear and comprehensive procedures to manage unsafe or risk-taking behaviour displayed by children. 22 November

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 30 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2583518 6 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure staff have the correct training, skills and knowledge to manage and respond to unsafe behaviours displayed by children. Review the development and training needs of staff in relation to children’s histories and current complex behaviours. Furthermore, implement monitoring and review systems which serve to identify shortfalls in the day- to-day care and help and protection of children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 30 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2583518 7 Specifically, use all information available to thoroughly assess, before children move into the home, whether the home and those working there can meet the needs of those children effectively. Furthermore, consider steps to be taken to improve children’s experiences when they move from the home in an emergency.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure safer recruitment procedures are followed. Where there are gaps in recruitment, leaders and managers should rectify these and ensure those working with children are suitable to do so. 30 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2583518 8

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: XYP Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 89 Church Road, Uppermill, Oldham OL3 6DY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Philip Hogan-Birse

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Inspector

Natalie Bennett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2583518 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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