Children's Home run by Mercia Children Services Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report children's home: 2587763 1 Registered provider: Mercia Children Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to four children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted when the home opened in July 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 11 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring 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 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2587763 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children's home: 2587763 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s plans reflect their individual needs. Children receive care that supports them to build resilience and self-confidence. The staff review plans regularly to help track children’s progress. However, children do not contribute to or consistently sign their case records. This means that some children may not understand their plans or agree with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that the home is very homely and that they enjoy living there. They engage in different activities, including table tennis, board games, swimming and camping holidays. The staff support them to see their families and friends. This promotes their physical and emotional health and develops their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff receive specialist support from a clinical psychologist. This helps the staff to develop individualised approaches for children and guides staff practice. Support is also provided by external agencies, including child and adolescent mental health services. This means that children make good progress with their emotional health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have strong bonds with the staff. This helps children to talk openly about their feelings and worries. Children feel safe and cared for. They can make mistakes, and the staff help them to learn from them. Children recognise how the support provided by the staff helps them to become more independent. They have a strong sense of belonging. One child said, ‘I’ve never felt at home anywhere before. Here, the staff and the other kids are my family. I will miss them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are in employment or education, and they are making good progress. They have up-to-date education plans, which are reviewed regularly. The staff have good links with local schools and support children’s learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Direct work sessions tend to be in response to incidents. They are not yet structured or planned alongside children’s care plans to support progress in specific areas. However, this is being developed.

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

Children feel safe at the home. The staff follow clear safeguarding procedures to protect children. The staff understand and respond to any risks through clear risk management strategies. The staff help children to understand their own risks and help them to keep themselves safer. As a result, a child no longer needs to be deprived of their liberty via a court order.

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

The registered manager is aware of the risks associated with the location of the home. He reviews children’s needs to manage risks and to ensure that the location remains suitable. Inspection report children's home: 2587763 4 Each child has a detailed and individualised action plan in case they go missing. The staff respond quickly to any missing-from-home incidents and take all reasonable steps to find children. The staff ensure that the children return home safely. Return home interviews are provided by an independent provider. Due to these measures, there have been fewer missing-from-home incidents in recent months.

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

The team has been locking a door to prevent children from going missing via the kitchen and to stop children from getting up and cooking in the night. This prevents children from having access to all areas of their home.

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

Physical interventions are minimal and proportionate. They are used to protect and safeguard children. Recording of the incidents is clear and factual. The staff and children receive a debrief soon after the incident. This helps them to reflect on what happened and helps to guide the staff in their practice.

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

Children know how to complain. Their complaints are taken seriously, and they receive a letter about the outcome. Any concerns about the conduct of individual staff are appropriately referred to the local authority designated officer. Thorough internal investigations are carried out if required.

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

Children have good relationships and see themselves as a family. They inevitably have disagreements sometimes. Children are encouraged to understand each other’s opinions and resolve any issues amicably.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current registered manager is due to transfer to a new home which the provider has applied to register with Ofsted. A replacement manager has been in post for some time as part of the transition in leadership and has applied to register for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff say they feel very well supported by the leadership team. Team members bring a range of skills that they use to work with the children. The manager has developed a highly positive culture across the team. The staff have responded flexibly when COVID-19 has been a challenge, to ensure that the children are cared for by familiar individuals. This means that no agency staff have been required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Any staff members who are not yet qualified in residential childcare are enrolled on a suitable course. The staff access a range of training to ensure that they practice safely and can meet the specific needs of the children. However, training achievements and future training needs are not clearly identified in the workforce plan, and training records can be difficult to navigate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders recognise that not all staff record consistently to the high standard expected. They are taking action to address this, so that records are clear and aid understanding of children’s journeys. Inspection report children's home: 2587763 5 Records of supervision lack reflection on staff practice. Suitable alternative arrangements were not considered to ensure that a member of staff had an annual appraisal of their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are good working relationships between the staff and external professionals involved in the children’s lives. Social workers say that they are regularly updated and that the staff team is proactive in helping children to make good progress. They feel welcomed when they visit children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are robust monitoring systems in place. Leaders constantly review and improve the information technology systems so that they are effective tools for the staff to use. Independent monitoring of the home helps the manager to identify any areas of improvement. However, it would benefit from a broader range of input from external stakeholders. This is a missed opportunity to gather valuable views about the quality of care provided. Inspection report children's home: 2587763 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

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 intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

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)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 13 March 2022

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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

In particular, supervision should reflect on practice. Where necessary, suitable alternative arrangements should be made to ensure that all staff receive an annual appraisal. 13 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2587763 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff encourage children to view and contribute to their records, so that their views are expressed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  The registered person should ensure that the workforce plan is updated to record when staff refresh their training. The plan should identify future training needs for individuals, to support their continuing professional development. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person consults regularly with a range of stakeholders as part of their assessment of the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should ensure that the staff maintain clear and consistently

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Recommendations

good-quality records about children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2587763 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Mercia Children Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bramhall House, 14 Ack Lane East, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire SK7 2BY

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Inspectors

Karen Willson, Social Care Inspector Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2587763 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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