Children's Home run by Safe Places for Children UK in Cheshire East

Inspection report for children’s home: 2541449 1 Registered provider: Safe Places for Children UK Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this home. The home is registered to provide accommodation for up to three children who may experience emotional, behavioural and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since July 2021. An interim manager is also in post and has submitted his application to Ofsted to apply for the registered manager position.

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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

The home was first registered in January 2020. This is the home’s first full inspection.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2541449 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2541449 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children in this home make measurable progress. Outcomes are measured against the emotional, social, health needs and vulnerability of each child. Children who have previously experienced multiple placement moves now live in a stable and secure environment. Bedrooms are personalised and provide nurturing, cosy spaces for children to relax and rest. There is evidence of ongoing maintenance and repair throughout the home, ensuring that it is decorated to a high standard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A child with additional health needs is making good progress. There has been a reduction in incidents. This indicates that this child has built positive relationships with his carers; he feels safe and secure in his living environment. Measures are in place which mean that staff immediately react to his health needs. The child’s social worker reports a vast improvement in the child’s overall well-being since living at the home. Health needs are met by staff and moving the child to the local area has ensured continuity of care and improved management of his health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to education. Children who have been out of education for some time require daily structure and guidance to attend education. Incidents in school are not always resolved quickly to ensure that children can confidently return to the learning environment. Children who refuse to attend education require alternative learning strategies to maintain a level of learning and a timetable that keeps them away from electronic games consoles. A requirement has been made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children with complex health needs have a multi-agency approach to support their healthcare plan. This ensures an individualised support plan to ensure that all health needs are met. Children with anxiety have additional therapeutic intervention to help them explore difficult feelings and emotions. Children are encouraged to engage in local community social activities. One child who is not in education spends a lot of time on his games console. Positive interaction with peers and engagement with age-appropriate activities helps children to increase their confidence in social relationships and helps to prevent social isolation. A recommendation has been made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to attend staff meetings to ensure their wishes and feelings are understood. Currently, the home does not have a consistent approach to capture children’s views. A recommendation has been made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making steady progress towards their independence. One child with medical needs now has a level of independence in his local community. His independence plan is balanced appropriately against health risks. Children maintain relationships with their family and staff support family time in the community. The children’s views are considered when planning time with their families. Inspection report for children’s home: 2541449 4

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improvement to be good

Risk management plans to help children with complex medical needs are planned effectively with key stakeholders. A multi-agency team provides its knowledge and expertise to help manage health concerns in the home, school and the wider community. Risk assessments for medication management are reviewed with the specialist nurse. A comprehensive assessment and safety plan for one child is in place in relation to this.

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improvement to be good

Missing-from-home incidents have reduced. Safety plans to manage missing-from- home episodes are in place to ensure the safety of children. For children who have medical needs, a multi-agency plan with the local police has ensured a sympathetic approach to appropriately handle children during any further episodes of going missing from home.

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improvement to be good

Independence plans for children with medical needs show a good balance of independent activity, balanced against meeting the medical needs of the child. One child who is not in education requires improved support to ensure that daily activities prepare them for independence. A parent expressed her concern and said, ‘There are no boundaries in place with his [games console] use. He is on it until the early hours. It’s not preparing him for independence.’

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improvement to be good

In addition to therapeutic support from external professionals, staff complete a range of key-work sessions to help and support the emotional well-being of children. One child required significant dental treatment. Staff role played a visit to the dental surgery prior to treatment. This helped the child to talk about his fears and worries and relieve any anxieties.

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improvement to be good

Risk management plans for internet safety and management of devices, such as the games console, require improvement. Currently, there is no monitoring system in place to ensure that children are not exposed to radicalisation, criminal and/or sexual exploitation while using such devices. Such a monitoring system is important to ensure that children who display complex behaviours, such as sexualised behaviour and/or showing obsession or overthinking on matters after watching online videos, are protected. Contracts of expectations for phone use are not effective in assuring staff that they are keeping children safe. A requirement has been made to address this matter.

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good

The manager of the home is overseeing two homes. The plan is for her to step down as registered manager once a new manager is appointed. There is an interim manager in post. The interim manager has submitted his application to Ofsted. The interim manager is supported by a confident deputy manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 2541449 5 The home’s statement of purpose is currently out of date and needs updating. A requirement is included under the leadership and management standard to address this matter.

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good

Staff have a good understanding of the progress of children in their care. Staff provide a nurturing and supportive environment for children. One child with complex health needs has a health passport that helps staff to quickly identify an action plan if the child has an epileptic seizure. The health passport is a clear plan should the child require further medical intervention.

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good

There is evidence of good multi-agency professional working relationships to manage care plans for children. However, important meetings, such as education review meetings with key professionals including virtual school and therapists, were not prioritised. There is evidence of lack of challenge with education to ensure that there is swift action to resolve disputes between school and children. This is particularly important for those children who have been out of education for a long time, to help minimise drift and delay for children returning to school.

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good

Staff are recruited to the home in line with the organisation’s safer recruitment procedures. Staff complete mandatory training. In addition, bespoke training is carried out to help manage additional risks within the home. For example, staff undertake specialist training to help manage epilepsy and medication administration.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision in which they discuss the progress and development of children. Staff recruitment has been a concern and staff report feeling overstretched. Sufficient staffing is important to ensure that staff do not become physically and mentally exhausted through burnout. A requirement has been made to address this matter.

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good

Independent scrutiny and review of the home is provided by an independent visitor. The quality of external monitoring reports requires improvement. The reports do not routinely capture the views of parents, professionals and children. Visits by the independent visitor are short and reports are brief. Comprehensive overview of the home is required. A requirement has been made to address this matter. Inspection report for children’s home: 2541449 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 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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and 30 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2541449 7 feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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Requirement Due date

and 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)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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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

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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies;

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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)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 30 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2541449 8 The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child's education and training targets, as recorded in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child's learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child's education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child's education and training and to maximise the child's achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child's education or training provider and the child's placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child's relevant plans; and 30 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2541449 9 that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child's learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children's home regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that they develop a system to ensure that children’s views, wishes and feelings are considered when planning and undertaking their care. It should apply to all children, including children with disabilities, special educational needs or other complex needs. (‘Guide to the children's home regulations, including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph

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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 for children’s home: 2541449 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Safe Places for Children UK

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: First Floor, Triad House, Mountbatten Court, Worrall Street, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 1DT

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Lorraine Aston-Donley

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Inspector

Kamal Bhamra, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2541449 11 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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