Children's home run by Halliwell Homes Limited in Staffordshire Moorlands

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC043697 1 SC043697

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Halliwell Homes Midlands Division Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care and accommodation for up to seven children who may experience emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was conducted because of an escalation in significant safeguarding notifications received by Ofsted. The visit focused on the safety and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home.

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This monitoring visit

This children’s home is going through a period of transition. Children who have been resident for several years are moving to other provisions, seven new staff have started employment and three new children have been admitted to the home. Furthermore, the registered manager has resigned and the proposed new manager has withdrawn his application for registration. The home is currently operating without a registered manager.

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This monitoring visit

Children’s safety and well-being is compromised because not all staff consistently follow the agreed risk management plans. Therefore, strategies to reduce and minimise risks become ineffective. The failure to follow the home’s agreed procedures has resulted in children being placed at significant risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

When risks are identified, some staff do not take effective action to minimise the risk to the children in the home. For example, when children are in crisis, some staff have removed themselves from the children for their own protection. This demonstrates a significant lack of knowledge, skill and experience in the management of children with complex trauma and a disregard for the protection of children presenting as in crisis. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC043697 2 Children are not consistently provided with one-to-one supervision and support in accordance with their individual plans. This lack of supervision, combined with a failure to follow individual risk management plans, has resulted in incidents including the theft of the home’s vehicle on two occasions and one incident of fire-setting. Throughout these incidents, the staff failed to intervene and reduce the risks to the

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This monitoring visit

Behaviour management strategies are not consistently understood or implemented by some of the staff. This is because some staff lack suitable experience and skill to confidently address challenging behaviours in accordance with the agreed plans. Newly appointed staff are not consistently on duty with experienced staff or staff who are employed to work at this home. This approach has resulted in children’s behaviour escalating around staff who are unable to help them to emotionally regulate.

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This monitoring visit

During the investigation into the failure to take effective action to safeguard the children, staff informed senior managers that they had lost control of the children. This lack of control has led to a series of poor decisions, with poor staff judgement demonstrating the deficit in the skills and experience required to manage the complexities of children living in the home. Consequently, the actions of the staff placed the children and those working in the home at further risk of significant harm.

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This monitoring visit

The home is currently operating without a registered manager. The organisation is actively seeking to secure a skilled and experienced manager for the home. However, the lack of sound leadership has resulted in poor decisions that have had a negative impact on the children living in the home and those employed to work there.

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This monitoring visit

Senior managers confirmed to the inspector that they had recognised they were unable to safely manage the behaviours of one child and that these behaviours were having an impact on other children living in the home. Delays in finding a suitable alternative provision resulted in all the children being placed at risk of harm. At the time of this visit, one child had been discharged and four children were living in the home. The home has begun to settle, and staff are working with senior managers to reflect on the challenges of the past two months and take learning from this.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of this monitoring visit, three compliance notices are issued, in respect of the positive relationships standard, the protection of children standard and the leadership and management standard. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC043697 3

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 14/07/2021 Full Good 07/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/10/2018 Full Good 27/02/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC043697 4

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ix)(xi)) 14 November 2021

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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 14 November 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC043697 5 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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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’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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; 14 November 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC043697 6 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Halliwell Homes Midlands Division Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 80 Cawdor street, Eccles, Manchester M30 0QF

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Inspector

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC043697 7 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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