Children's Home run by Care Haven (UK) Limited in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 1 SC483828 Registered provider: Care Haven (UK) 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 run children’s home. It is registered to provide care for up to five children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties. The manager was registered with Ofsted in May 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 3 November 2020 to carry out an assurance. 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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Inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected Inadequate

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Inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Inadequate

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Inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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Inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/03/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/11/2018 Full Good 31/01/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 3

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inadequate

The current standards of care and support provided at this home mean that children’s safety and emotional well-being needs are not being adequately met. The lack of coordinated placement planning to support children effectively is placing them at significant risk. The lack of detailed planning documentation hinders the staff team’s ability to keep children safe and improve their outcomes by having defined objectives to work towards. There are currently three children living in the home. Since the last inspection, the home has been through a period of instability. A number of children have left the home in an unplanned way.

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inadequate

Children are registered with local primary health providers. One child has not attended their annual health assessment. Staff told inspectors that the child feels anxious about medical appointments. Records did not demonstrate that staff had tried to explore this with the child to support them to attend the appointment. There is no evidence of discussion with professionals regarding this matter. This does not ensure that children’s health needs are met and understood.

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inadequate

Although children living at the home are currently enrolled in education, attendance is sporadic for them. As a result, their engagement in education is minimal. Expectations around routines in the home do not support children to be ready and prepared for education. Not all children have education plans in place.

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inadequate

Care planning and risk management in the home are poor. There is no local authority care plan on file for one child. This had not been identified by the registered manager and so this means that the child does not receive effectively planned care. It is not clear how staff understand the aims of the placement and are supporting the child to make progress.

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inadequate

Records of individual discussions with children do not clearly evidence what is being discussed with children, or what the views of children are. The registered manager has recently amended some documentation to better capture the feelings of children, although this is not yet embedded in practice.

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inadequate

Inspectors saw positive relationships between children and staff. Children told the inspector that they were able to do activities that they enjoy, such as playing football or going to the cinema. Children also enjoy playing on electronic games consoles. This activity is not sufficiently well monitored by staff as some children play games which are not appropriate for their age, leaving them vulnerable to inappropriate content.

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inadequate

Children said they are aware of how to make a complaint and would feel comfortable approaching any member of staff if they had a concern. One child told Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 4 the inspector that he was unsure who the registered manager is. One parent told an inspector that they had made a complaint and that the registered manager had dealt with this appropriately.

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inadequate

Children are supported to spend time with their families. This supports children to maintain important links to people who are important to them. One parent told inspectors that staff communicate well, ensuring that they are kept informed of their child’s day-to-day experiences.

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

Managers and staff are unable to identify, manage or minimise risks to children adequately. Poor-quality risk assessments prevent the staff from having a clear understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities, including the consideration of their previous known risks. These assessments do not provide staff with clear strategies and guidance to enable them to keep children safe. This fails to ensure that risks are managed consistently by the staff and that appropriate support is in place to minimise risk to children.

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

Risk management plans are not in place to address all known risks to children. For example, there was no risk assessment in place for one child who had been smoking in their bedroom. This means that staff do not have any written guidance on the strategies that they are to use to minimise this risk and keep the child and staff safe in the home.

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

The manager has implemented risk management plans for when children go missing from the home. During the inspection, one child was reported as missing from the home. Despite the risk management plan identifying the action staff should take, records did not demonstrate that staff had followed this plan to support the child to return to the home. Furthermore, children do not have the opportunity to speak to someone independent on their return from going missing. These are missed opportunities to gain information and insight relating to the reasons why children go missing from the home.

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

There have been a number of incidents requiring police involvement, resulting in the breakdown of placements for children in times of crisis. On one occasion, a child took a staff member’s vehicle. This placed the child and members of the public at risk of significant harm. Not all serious incidents have been notified to Ofsted.

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

Impact risk assessments for children moving into the home are ineffective. They do not show that the home has consulted with previous carers or explored the reasons why children have moved from previous placements. The assessments do not clearly demonstrate how the manager has accurately assessed the skills of the staff team to meet the needs of the child. As a result, a number of placements for children have ended with unplanned moves from the home.

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

Allegations of harm are not responded to appropriately. For example, following a physical intervention, a child made an allegation that they had been harmed. The Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 5 leadership and management team failed to report this allegation to the designated officer for the local authority. A member of the management team proceeded to complete their own investigation into the allegation and allowed the member of staff to continue to work with the child during the investigation. This practice does not ensure that children’s safety and welfare are attended to and promoted.

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

Systems are not in place for independent scrutiny of physical restraints when the registered manager is involved in the intervention. This does not promote an open and transparent culture in the home. Records of restraint and consequences are not always reviewed in a timely manner or evaluated for their effectiveness. This does not ensure that leaders understand the impact of physical intervention and consequences for children, or ensure that the appropriateness of the measures used have been evaluated.

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

The health and safety of the home environment is inadequate. Leaders and managers have not taken action regarding a recent fire service report. Fire doors in the home are not fit for purpose and fail to provide sufficient protection should there be a fire in the home. As a result, children’s safety and welfare is compromised. Furthermore, internal doors are routinely locked at night, restricting children’s movement around their home. This also reduces the number of available exits in the event of an emergency.

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

The home environment is poor. In one child’s bedroom, their wardrobe does not have doors. This damage had been caused by a child previously living at the home. It had not been repaired prior to the new child moving into the home. Other areas of damage in the home have not been repaired, which means that children are not living in a homely environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is managed by a suitably qualified registered manager. This is the manager’s first registered manager position. He has worked a number of shifts in order to maintain consistency of staffing in the home due to a number of staff vacancies. This has had an impact on his ability to complete management tasks in the home. There have also been recent changes to the management team, with two deputy managers leaving the organisation. This disruption to the management team has impacted on the registered manager’s capacity to make effective change in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The monitoring of children’s care in the home is ineffective. The registered manager has failed to ensure that all risks have been suitably assessed. Records do not demonstrate that staff are aware of the agreed strategies in place to support children. Furthermore, it is not always clear who has written the records. These shortfalls have not been identified by the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff told inspectors that they feel supported in their role. However, there are gaps in the frequency of their supervision. Records do not demonstrate that staff are being supported to reflect on incidents and practice in the home during their Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 6 supervision sessions. Not all staff have had their performance appraised annually. This means that opportunities are missed to develop staff and review their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not ensure that team meetings take place regularly. When they do take place, the manager does not review any actions arising from these meetings, to ensure that they have been completed. The manager and staff are not using team meetings to consider and improve the care that they provide for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has not assured himself that all staff have the skills and knowledge required to undertake their role. Training records are chaotic. Currently, the manager has a number of systems in place to record training. A new member of staff’s training record does not show that he has completed any training since starting in his role with the organisation. Shortfalls were identified in relation to staff recruitment, specifically that the registered manager had not verified the reason why an applicant’s previous employment had ended. The registered manager has not had oversight of the recruitment checks the organisation had undertaken. This does not ensure that leaders have satisfied themselves of the integrity of all staff working at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager’s review of the quality-of-care report does not include consultation with children, their families, or external agencies. The report does not identify specific actions to improve the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 7

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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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that risk management plans address all known risks and include strategies for staff to follow. That staff understand children’s risk management plans and their roles and responsibilities in protecting children. That improvements and repairs are addressed swiftly in the home. 21 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— 21 November Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 8 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 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)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must strengthen management oversight, and ensure that all staff have the necessary skills and training to undertake their role.

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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.

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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 each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they have copies of children’s relevant plans from the local authority. 21 November

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises;

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is necessary and proportionate; 21 January 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 9 allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children have access to all areas of their home and that doors are not routinely locked.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that full information is available in relation to each of the matters listed. 21 January 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; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff receive regular practice-based supervision and that their performance is appraised annually. 21 January 2021

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used; 21 January 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 10 the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure;

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all records of restraint are subject to scrutiny to ensure they are fair and proportionate, and all sanctions are evaluated for effectiveness.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s case records are kept up to date and signed by the author of the record. 21 January 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;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; and

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e)) 21 January 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 11 The registered person must notify HMCI of any relevant incidents.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(b)(c)(5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must review the quality of care in order to drive forward improvements in the home. This includes gaining feedback from stakeholders. 21 January 2021

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC483828 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Haven (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Westminster House, 10 Westminster Road, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 1BX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Patricia Swallow

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Inspectors

Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Louise Redfern, Regional Inspection Manager Inspection report children’s home: SC483828 13 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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