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

Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 1 SC065374 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 emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2015.

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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 and 4 November 2020, to carry out an assurance 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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good

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

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/03/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/07/2018 Full Good 06/12/2017 Full Good 25/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently two children living at the home. A consistent and dedicated staff team cares for the children. Staff are confident when talking about the children’s needs and behaviours. One child told the inspectors that they would be happy to approach staff if they had a problem. The child said: ‘[Staff] listen and try to find a solution.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress with their education from their individual starting points. Children who have previously spent long periods of time out of formal education have been supported to re-engage with school and college. Staff work closely with teachers and other professionals to ensure that children receive the right levels of support to help them stay focused and engaged in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see the people who are important to them. Staff understand that these relationships can be complex. They communicate well with children’s families, which helps them to manage these relationships safely and appropriately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children understand the home’s complaints procedure. Staff support children to access an independent advocate to help them to express their views and feelings about their care experiences. This ensures that the child’s voice is heard in the home and also by other professionals involved in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with relevant healthcare professionals. They are supported to attend routine health appointments and access medical treatment, if required. However, the registered manager does not have appropriate medical consent in place for all children. Additionally, recording of accidents, both for children and staff, requires improvement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have helped staff to decorate and furnish the downstairs living areas, and benefit from living in a cosy and homely environment. Photographs and artwork done by the children are on display throughout the home. However, children’s bedrooms are not furnished and decorated to the same high standard as the communal areas of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence skills. This prepares them for when they move on from the home. However, the local authority plan for one child had not been updated to reflect the current care arrangements and the child’s progress. Since the last inspection, two children have successfully transitioned from residential care back to their own families. Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 4

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improvement to be good

Individual risk management plans identify areas of concern and provide strategies that enable staff to manage risk. However, for some risks, strategies refer broadly to ‘routines’ of the home which are not specifically recorded in the plan. Some risk management plans contain conflicting information, including details of other children. This means that staff do not always have the written information that they require in order to support children consistently. Furthermore, plans do not demonstrate that staff are aware of the strategies that have been identified in order to reduce these risks.

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improvement to be good

Locks on internal and external doors mean that children would be unable to leave the property independently of staff in the event of a fire. This practice does not ensure that children are safe in the home. In addition, internal doors to communal areas are locked routinely at night. This prevents children from having access to all areas of their home, and detracts from the homely environment staff seek to provide.

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improvement to be good

Before any new admissions are accepted, the needs of children already living at the home are considered in placement-matching assessments which assess the impact of any risk. However, the assessments do not demonstrate how the manager has considered the views of other stakeholders.

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improvement to be good

Following a recent safeguarding incident, the home shared information with appropriate agencies. As a result of this incident, one child moved on from the home in an unplanned way, in order to protect other children living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Records show that staff respond appropriately when children are missing from the home. Children have access to an independent person on their return to the home. This gives children an opportunity to speak to somebody who is independent of the home. For one child, the number of missing-from-home incidents has reduced in relation to their starting point.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager, who is supported by a deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that they feel supported in their role by the registered manager. Staff are encouraged to reflect on their practice during regular supervision, and after any incidents in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly, and are well attended by the staff team. These meetings cover the delegation of responsibilities to staff members. One member of staff told inspectors that they feel more ‘empowered’ in their role and in decision- making. Records show discussion around how the team captures the views of Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 5 children living in the home. Children do occasionally attend team meetings which provides the opportunity for them to contribute to the running of their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that staff have training to meet children’s specific needs, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. Staff have also received additional training to support them in managing conflicts between children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring identifies areas for improvement to support the development of the home. The registered manager has an action plan which details steps he has taken to make improvements as a result of these visits. The plan also refers to areas for development, including the introduction of a new electronic recording system.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has submitted a review of the quality of care which evidences his understanding of the children living in the home. However, the report does not include the views of children, parents and external agencies. This is required in order to drive forward improvements in the quality of care provided for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose identifies the aims and objectives of the home, and has been kept under review by the registered manager. However, the home’s statement of purpose states that the consent of children’s placing authorities is required when using door sensors as a means of surveillance, but the registered manager is yet to do this. Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 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, 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure: that risk management plans are accurate and include clear strategies for staff to follow to reduce risk; that staff are aware of the strategies in the individual risk management plans; and that thumb-turn locks are fitted to external doors, to allow children to leave the home independently. 8 December 2021

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Requirement Due date

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

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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; 8 December 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 7 is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

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)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children have access to all areas of their home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance. (Regulation 24 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that they have obtained consent to use door sensors in the home. 8 December 2021

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s case records are kept up to date. 8 December 2021

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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 quality of care provided for children;

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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.

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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)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that feedback from children and stakeholders is captured in the report. 8 December 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that for each child permission is sought to enable staff to administer first aid and non-prescription medication, and that there is clear recording of accidents or injury, both for children and staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.14)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a homely, nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of their children. In particular, children’s bedrooms should be furnished and decorated to the same standard as other areas of the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 5, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they work closely with the placing authority to understand the child’s relationship history and the impact that the child’s arrival may have on the group living in the home. In particular, pre- admission assessments should be more comprehensive regarding consultation with key stakeholders. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.3)

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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: SC065374 9

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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 Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC065374 10 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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