Children's home run by Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council in Wigan

Inspection report children’s home: SC040982 1 SC040982 Registered provider: Wigan Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority short-break service for children with disabilities and complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in March 2021.

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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: Inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 20 July 2021. Following the inspection, two compliance notices were issued: under regulation 13, the leadership and management standard; and regulation 14, the care planning standard.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At a monitoring visit on 17 September 2021, inspectors found that the registered manager had taken the required action to address the shortfalls identified in the compliance notices. Inspection report children’s home: SC040982 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/07/2021 Full Inadequate 16/10/2019 Full Good 07/12/2018 Full Outstanding 12/09/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC040982 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Disabled children enjoy positive and safe short breaks at this home. Staff are very experienced and skilled in supporting disabled children. They provide each child with a high standard of personalised care that meets the child’s complex needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s high-quality care and professional practice are contributing to children’s development. Children are making good progress in improving their health and emotional well-being, personal care, communication and social interaction. They are becoming more independent and coping with changes in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage every child to express their wishes and feelings, regardless of how the child communicates. Staff help children to make meaningful choices about how they are supported and how they spend their time. For example, a parent has made a film of the signs that their child uses, to help staff understand what the signs mean for him. The child is less anxious because he knows that staff understand what he is saying to them about his needs and therefore, feels assured that they can meet these needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have every opportunity to do the things they enjoy and have new experiences. Children take part in a variety of enjoyable activities, including: art and craft; trips to busy places, such as the shops and bowling alleys; and going out to parks, the seaside and zoos.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child’s care is well planned and well organised. Staff work closely with parents and carers, social workers, teachers and health professionals to develop a clear understanding of children’s specific needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff contribute fully to the plans for the child’s care. This includes a thorough assessment of the child’s needs, risks and compatibility with other children, and the staff’s skills and abilities to meet the children’s individual and collective needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are introduced to the home in ways that are sensitive to each child’s needs, understanding and abilities. Some children have more visits before they stay for the night, to help them feel safe and comfortable about being away from their families.

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

Children stay in a safe and supportive environment. The safeguarding arrangements protect children from harm and support their emotional well-being. The staff treat children with dignity, and always make sure that children’s intimate care needs are met safely and sensitively. Inspection report children’s home: SC040982 4 Staff have a detailed understanding of the vulnerabilities of each child. They continually assess the risks to children’s safety. They take considered and reasonable precautions to make sure that children are protected.

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

Staff make sure that children do not go missing from their care. However, the potential risks of children going missing from the home or in the community are not assessed individually. There are no specific plans in place to show the staff what they need to do to manage the risks to individual children, and what they must do if a child goes missing from their care.

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

Staff are knowledgeable about risks to the children’s health associated with their disabilities and any long-term medical conditions. Staff have the necessary skills and training to respond appropriately to children’s personal care and medical needs. The arrangements for managing children’s medication are safe and robust.

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

Staff are vigilant and understand their responsibilities in protecting children. They recognise the smallest changes in children’s behaviour, mood or appearance which might indicate that children are at risk of harm. The manager and staff take effective action when they have concerns about a child’s welfare. They work well with parents, social workers and other key professionals in order to understand the risks to children and put suitable protective measures in place.

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

However, on one occasion, a child’s daily records did not show that staff had concerns about the child’s safety and what they did in response. Although other records showed that staff had acted immediately to protect the child, this important information was missing from the child’s file.

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

The independent person’s monitoring report for October 2021 failed to identify these safeguarding concerns. Therefore, they did not evaluate what had happened, to enable them to assess the home’s effectiveness in protecting children from harm.

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

The occasions when children feel upset and may show aggressive or self-injurious behaviour are reducing over time. This is because staff know the children very well and engage with them effectively to understand and meet their emotional needs. Staff use well-thought-out support plans to create a consistent environment where children feel safe.

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

When a child shows signs of distress, staff intervene confidently to reassure the child and manage the situation safely. For example, staff encourage a child to clap his hands to discourage him from hitting his head. Another child was distressed at bedtime. Staff developed a clear bedtime routine that has helped the child to settle well at night and enjoy his stay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides clear and effective leadership. Leaders, the manager, deputy managers and staff have worked together successfully to address the shortfalls in Inspection report children’s home: SC040982 5 management and care planning found at the inspection in July 2021. The improvements seen at the monitoring visit in September 2021 have been sustained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and staff are always looking at ways to improve children’s experiences. The manager uses thorough and evaluative monitoring systems to understand the quality of care that children receive, and children’s experiences and outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff make sure that disabled children benefit from a positive and aspirational culture. They are ambitious for children to have the best possible experience of staying at the home, and to reach their potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Well-planned staffing arrangements make sure that there are always enough knowledgeable, experienced, well-trained and qualified staff available to meet the children’s needs. Staff work cohesively to make sure that children are supported consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy managers provide each member of staff with the right support, guidance and encouragement. Staff use practice-related supervision to reflect critically on children’s progress and their own professional practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills through training that is tailored to meet the needs of disabled children, including training in communicating with children. Inspection report children’s home: SC040982 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

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

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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to making sure that risks of children going missing from the home, or when they are with staff in the community, are assessed individually. The assessments must consider the child’s circumstances, needs and vulnerabilities. They should show what staff need to do to manage the risk to the child in different situations, and what they must do if a child goes missing from their care.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that concerns about children’s safety, and the action taken in response, are recorded in the children’s daily records. 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded. (Regulation 44 (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that the independent person identifies and evaluates any safeguarding concern to enable 30 November Inspection report children’s home: SC040982 7 them to assess the home’s effectiveness in protecting children from harm.

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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: SC040982 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wigan Council, Town Hall, Library Street, Wigan WN1 1YN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Shirley Parkinson

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Inspectors

Nick Veysey, Social Care Inspector Rose Maddocks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC040982 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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