Children's home run by Restorative Social Care Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2528634 1 Registered provider: Restorative Social Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager and the home registered with Ofsted on 20 May 2019.

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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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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

Date of last inspection: 20 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2528634 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2528634 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are helped to develop positive relationships with the staff and other children who live in this home. Children seek out the support of staff when they are worried, and the manager and staff respond sensitively and appropriately. The high level of individualised care and support that the children receive ensures that they all make good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff know the children well, and they involve the children in choosing exciting activities. Children enjoy a range of activities, such as going swimming and attending singing lessons. Opportunities are created for the children to contribute to the local community, such as being involved in the ‘Eco Warriors’ scheme. This enables children to take part in litter picking and helping to deliver food to the homeless. These experiences help the children to gain a better understanding of what happens in their local community and give the children a sense of pride that they are helping to improve this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences have been enhanced as they have been supported to try new things. Three children have recently enjoyed a trip to Disneyland Paris. Children have also experienced days out and have enjoyed other holidays, including a trip to Blackpool. These experiences enrich the lives of the children and help them to improve their confidence, social skills and communication skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported well to understand the risks associated with the COVID- 19 pandemic. The staff have been creative in engaging the children during the pandemic. This helped to ensure that children had the opportunity to keep busy during a period of national restrictions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported well to attend an education setting which can meet their individual learning needs. In addition, the manager has sourced private tuition for some of the children, using education funding. This supplementary tuition has helped the children to make good progress so that they can achieve their expected levels in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that children who move into and out of the home are supported well. When children move into the home, they have a personalised introduction which involves the adults who are important to the children. Those children who already live in the home are also supported well when a new child moves in. Children who move out of the home are directly involved in developing their own independence plan which reflects their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

While not all children understand the role of an advocate, the manager is able to identify when an advocate is needed. She has referred one child to an advocacy Inspection report for children’s home: 2528634 4 service. This allows the child’s views about their long-term care plan to be heard independently and enables the child to contribute to their care planning process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home conditions are of a good standard. The children can personalise their rooms if they choose and have shared spaces in the home where they can spend time together. Although there is a plan to improve some aspects of the home, one kitchen cupboard door needs repairing and the painting to the front door, identified by the independent visitor on 5 November 2021, still requires attention.

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

The staff understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities so that the children’s safety and well-being are prioritised. Children’s risk assessments and safety plans are clear and individualised to each child’s specific needs. These are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect any changes in the children’s behaviours.

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

The staff provide clear and consistent boundaries for the children. A therapeutic model, which the staff understand, informs the care practice in the home. The staff and manager promote a restorative approach to help the children to reflect on their actions and behaviours. This involves staff spending time with the children and talking with them about their behaviour, actions and consequences. This has helped the children to gain a better understanding of how their actions can affect others.

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

Sanctions are used appropriately to keep the children safe. However, not all sanctions have proven to be successful in reducing the number of incidents for some of the children. This has resulted in one child’s aggressive behaviour increasing and their placement ending.

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

Physical restraint is rare and is only used when necessary to protect the children or staff from harm. When this is needed, staff who are appropriately trained carry this out safely.

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

When children go missing from home, the staff follow the necessary processes and steps to locate the child. The staff communicate effectively with the police and share intelligence to reduce risks. This coordinated approach has helped to reduce the number of times that one child has gone missing from the home.

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

Room searches are only carried out when necessary and to safeguard children. This, and the actions taken by the manager and staff, has reduced the risks for one child who was exposed to the risk of harm due to their alcohol and drug misuse.

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

The children know how to complain and can identify who they would complain to. There has been an isolated incident of a child making a complaint, which the manager listened to and took seriously.

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

New staff, who have completed the provider’s mandatory training, and have been vetted appropriately, provide good care to the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2528634 5 The manager takes effective action when any concerns about the staff’s practice are raised. She takes immediate and effective steps to safeguard the children. While the manager ensures that all relevant safeguarding agencies are notified, she has failed to notify Ofsted of two separate allegations that have been made against the staff. This oversight has prevented Ofsted from scrutinising this practice. In addition, this has prevented Ofsted from being assured that all the necessary actions have been taken to safeguard the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and committed to delivering a high standard of care. She is supported in her role by a dedicated staff team, including her assistant manager, who all have a diverse range of skills. The manager is committed to her ongoing professional development and is in the process of completing the required management qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proactive in identifying the areas for development in the home, and she has taken the necessary action to make some improvements. The manager has streamlined the children’s records to avoid duplication and has implemented a tracking system to review the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records are of a good quality. These records clearly explain the children’s needs, risks and how these are managed. These records illustrate the positive experiences of the children and the progress that they make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has taken effective action to address the one requirement raised at the last inspection. There has been one isolated incident of a staff member using an inappropriate sanction for a child. However, the manager’s effective monitoring system has identified this quickly. The manager has taken swift action and provided additional training and supervision to improve practice in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has also taken appropriate action to address all three of the recommendations raised at the last inspection. This has improved access into and out of the home, and the staff’s ability to safely care for children who may self-harm using ligatures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision is regular and is generally of a good quality. Supervision is focused on the children’s needs and staff development. Team meetings and shift handovers also provide a good forum for discussions about the children’s needs and staff development. The manager supports the professional development of her staff team. She appropriately delegates tasks to her team to encourage learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals say that the children are very settled and make good progress. They identify the staff and manager as being supportive. Professionals consistently say there is good communication between the manager and themselves. They recognise the foundations of this lie in the relationships the staff have forged with the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2528634 6 All the staff have completed the provider’s mandatory training. While some staff have completed some refresher training, others have not. As the provider’s workforce development plan does not identify when the staff should complete their refresher training, the provider cannot hold the staff to account when this training is not completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose has been updated recently and accurately reflects the development plan and current plan for the home. However, this document does not clearly identify the qualifications of all staff. Consequently, parents, commissioners and Ofsted cannot be assured that the staff who are caring for the children have the required qualification. Inspection report for children’s home: 2528634 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 registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the statement of purpose includes all staff’s qualifications. 1 April 2022

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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

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. (Regulation 40 (4) (c)(e)) 1 April 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1. The plan should detail any further training required for staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of the staff. In particular, the registered person should ensure that the workforce development identifies the staff’s qualifications and the frequency in which any training will be refreshed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. Children’s homes will, in most

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Recommendations

cases, be homely, domestic environments. In particular, the registered person Inspection report for children’s home: 2528634 8 should ensure that the kitchen cupboard is repaired and the front door is repainted. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2528634 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Restorative Social Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Victoria Street, Greetland, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX4 8DF

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Inspectors

Julia Hagan, Social Care Inspector Janine Shortman-Thomas, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2528634 10 regulates and inspects 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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Inspectors

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