Children's home run by Young Foundations Limited in Wirral

Inspection report children’s home: SC068410 1 SC068410 Registered provider: Young Foundations Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. The home is registered to provide care for up to six children aged 11 to 18 with mental health and learning difficulties. At the time of this inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

An experienced manager is in post, who has recently submitted an application to become registered with Ofsted. The manager holds a common foundation qualification in nursing, a level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce and is working towards completing a level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management.

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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 8 and 9 December 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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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 4 February 2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC068410 2 Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC068410 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2020 Full Good 15/01/2019 Full Outstanding 20/02/2018 Full Outstanding 07/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC068410 4

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improvement to be good

Since the assurance visit in December 2020, seven children have moved into the home and eight children have left. Children’s experiences of moving on from the home are mixed. Some children have returned to live with family. One child moved to a semi-independent provision and staff continue to provide advice to support workers helping the child. However, three children’s moves from the home were unplanned. As a result, some children do not have positive experiences of leaving and this has the potential to affect their welfare and future placement stability.

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improvement to be good

In conjunction with the organisation’s therapist, the manager completes an assessment on children being considered to live at the home. Most children experience a positive and well-planned move into the home. However, these assessments do not always identify whether there is likely to be an increase in risks when children have similar behaviours, such as self-harm.

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improvement to be good

During the admission process, the manager identifies targeted support needs for each child. However, staff do not help children with these needs. For example, one child requires support to develop a better understanding of how to keep themselves safe online and the risks related to exploitation, but this work has not yet commenced. Staff undertake key-work sessions reactively in response to incidents, and these sessions are unrelated to the child’s targets. Therefore, children do not make as much progress as they could in key areas.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff acknowledge that there are sometimes conflicts between children who live in the home. Although staff encourage children to resolve conflicts in children’s meetings, children are not always provided with a safe space to speak about their feelings and experiences of living with their peers. This does not fully help children to build positive relationships or support them to identify how their actions affect others.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children are registered with local health services. However, records of health appointments attended by children are not kept up to date by staff and managers. This has the potential for information relating to children’s health needs to be missed.

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improvement to be good

Some children who require medication do not receive this as prescribed by their medical practitioner. One child’s records show several occasions when medication was not administered, and staff have not recorded the reason for this. When staff do administer medication, they do not accurately record the time it was given. Shortfalls in monitoring medication do not promote children’s health.

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improvement to be good

A clinical psychologist employed by the organisation visits the home once a week and provides therapy to individual children to support their emotional health and Inspection report children’s home: SC068410 5 well-being. In addition, the psychologist and a psychiatrist consult with staff and provide them with training to develop their understanding of the children’s needs and how best to support them.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to attend school and overcome barriers to their learning. As a result, children are making good progress with their learning. One child who was finding it difficult to attend school regularly now has a personalised timetable that takes account of her personal interests and career aspirations.

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improvement to be good

Managers have been creative in supporting children to keep in touch with people they care about during the COVID-19 pandemic. As government restrictions have eased, arrangements now include spending time face-to-face with loved ones. Staff support children to attend birthday celebrations for family members and buy gifts for people they care about. When there are communication barriers that affect children’s experiences with loved ones, interpreters provide support and, as a result, children benefit from positive interactions that promote their self-esteem and identity.

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improvement to be good

During the height of COVID-19 restrictions, when children were not in school and activities outside the home were limited, routines were difficult to keep to and some children stayed up later than usual, which affected their motivation the next day. Staff have worked hard to implement good routines, which children are now following, and this is having a positive impact on their general well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff supervise children well and this helps to reduce the frequency of incidents of children going missing from home. On the rare occasions when children do go missing from home, staff search the local area. However, on two occasions, staff did not promptly share concerns for a missing child with police. Because the child was not reported missing, no return home interview was offered and the child did not have an opportunity to speak with an independent person about what led them to leave the home, where they had been and whether they had come to any harm. Records relating to missing-from-home incidents have not been evaluated by the manager. This practice does not help staff to gather information on where to find the child in the future or to improve practice.

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improvement to be good

Staff are trained to use physical intervention, which is occasionally used to keep children and others safe. However, records lack important detail, such as what action was taken by staff to de-escalate the incident, a clear description of restrictive holds used and whether children were provided with medical attention. In addition, children and staff are not always provided with an opportunity to discuss the intervention afterwards. A lack of reflection does not support developing practice and improving children’s experiences.

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improvement to be good

Staff know children well and can identify changes in children’s behaviours. Some children’s risks relating to self-harming have reduced. This is good practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC068410 6 However, children’s risk assessments do not outline early warning signs and potential triggers, and strategies for managing risks are limited. This means that staff do not have a range of possible interventions to manage all known risks.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make complaints and can name staff they could speak to if they have any concerns. Some children have raised concerns about their relationship with other children who live in the home, and these are responded to by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not have effective monitoring systems in place to support him to understand the quality of care children receive. This limits the manager’s understanding of areas for development and plans to improve children’s progress and experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some difficult dynamics within the staff team have come to light recently. This has included some staff not sharing potential safeguarding concerns promptly. A lack of oversight by the manager meant that he was unaware of a subculture developing within the team. Staff not working well together affects the quality of care children receive. Investigations have now been completed and learning is being implemented.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

On one occasion, an external agency referred concerns about the safety of a child to the local authority. Although the manager responded to this concern, he did not notify Ofsted. On another occasion, there was a delay in Ofsted receiving information about a serious incident. When serious incident notifications are submitted to Ofsted, these lack details. These shortfalls do not help the regulator to monitor the manager’s response to serious incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some staff hold a relevant qualification. Unqualified staff are enrolled on the relevant course and are working towards completion of the level 3 diploma within the required timescale. However, management oversight of staff training is poor and records show that some staff have not received up-to-date training. The manager has not considered how this affects staff’s ability to undertake their roles and whether any additional measures need to be put in place until the required training is complete.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive regular supervision. This reduces staff’s opportunity to reflect on practice, review any safeguarding concerns and develop practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is maintained well. The manager identifies improvements required and makes arrangements for these to be completed. For example, children’s bedroom furniture is being replaced with furniture that is modern. Health and safety is taken seriously. Staff complete regular checks and managers ensure that external contractors complete routine servicing of firefighting equipment, utility supplies and electrical appliances. Children benefit from living in a homely setting that is safe and well equipped. Inspection report children’s home: SC068410 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, 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—

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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

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff provide children with opportunities to reflect on their behaviours that may cause upset to other children they live with and help them to repair relationships when conflict occurs. 21 December

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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

that staff— 21 December Inspection report children’s home: SC068410 8 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that children’s risk-management plans provide staff with guidance on the expected actions to take to reduce and manage risk. In addition, ensure that staff report children who are missing from home to the police when needed. Furthermore, ensure that staff support children to learn how to keep themselves safe.

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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

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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff receive training to support them with their roles when required, and that managers have effective systems in place to check the quality of care that children receive. 21 December

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) 21 December Inspection report children’s home: SC068410 9 Specifically, ensure that all children experience as positive a move on from the home as possible.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are administered their medication in line with the prescriber’s directions and that the actual time that medication is administered is recorded. Staff should keep a record of any reason medication was not administered as directed. 21 December

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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. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 21 December

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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

a description of the measure and its duration;

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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

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result 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; and 21 December Inspection report children’s home: SC068410 10 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)(iv)(v)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff record details of any de- escalation strategies used to divert children’s behaviour, including a clear description of the restraint technique used, and ensure that there are opportunities for staff and children to receive a debrief.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the manager ensuring that all serious incidents are notified to Ofsted within expected timescales. 21 December

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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: SC068410 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Young Foundations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7 Grosvenor Street, Chester CH1 2DD

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Inspector

Helen Malanaphy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC068410 12 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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