Children's Home run by Crossway Services Limited in St Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 1 SC068206 Registered provider: Crossway 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 is registered to provide care for one child. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The interim manager has been in post since December 2021. She is not yet registered with Ofsted. She also manages another children’s home for the company.

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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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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 requires improvement to be good

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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: 25 February 2020

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2020 Full Outstanding 01/05/2018 Full Good 20/09/2017 Full Good 01/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved on from this home. One child moved into their own accommodation and another child left the home in an unplanned way. The child currently living in the home has recently moved in and staff are starting to develop relationships with her.

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improvement to be good

The inspector observed positive relationships between the child and staff during the inspection. The child told the inspector that they liked living in the home. The child said she feels staff genuinely care for her. The child told the inspector she is able to talk to staff if she has any worries or concerns and feels she would be listened to and supported.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported to attend relevant health appointments. The child’s health needs, specifically her allergies, are well recorded in her plans and understood by staff. However, plans do not clearly identify any specialist services available to provide help and support to the child, for example in relation to the child’s sexual health or substance misuse.

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improvement to be good

Staff are pro-active in encouraging the child to attend her education provision. Good communication is in place between staff at the home and educational professionals. However, the home does not have a computer that the child can access to support their learning and development. This limits the access to the internet for the child to complete homework or access to educational resources during any periods of non- attendance at school.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported to spend time with the people who are important to them. They are able to invite friends and family to their home. Staff understand that it is important to promote these relationships for the child.

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improvement to be good

The child has individualised risk management plans in place. The plans include the child’s views about known concerns. This supports the development of strategies to manage these risks. However, risk management plans do not include all the strategies staff must follow in order to minimise the risks. Furthermore, strategies that are in place have not been consistently followed by staff. For example, when staff became aware that the child had access to cannabis, the child was not challenged appropriately, and a room search was not carried out, despite this being an identified strategy within the risk management plan. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 4 There have been incidents where children have gone missing from the home. Although plans do outline the procedure staff are to follow when a child goes missing, it is not clear how often staff should have contact with the child when they are in the community or when they should begin the procedure. When children have

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improvement to be good

been missing, staff are vigilant in their efforts to find them, and children are given the opportunity to speak to someone independent of the home when they return. However, the records lack detail, and it is not always clear if a return home interview has taken place, or the outcome of this.

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improvement to be good

There has recently been a safeguarding concern. The manager has informed relevant professionals, including the designated officer, regarding matters of concern within the home. While information about incidents that have occurred is shared promptly with professionals, it is not always submitted to the regulator in a timely manner.

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improvement to be good

Positive behaviour is promoted through incentives, and consequences are not used frequently in this home. However, records of consequences do not detail the behaviour of the child or the action staff took that led to the measures being put in place. Furthermore, records do not always demonstrate discussion with children.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, an independent fire risk assessment has been completed which raised several actions required to improve fire safety in the home. Although some of the actions have been completed, some actions remain outstanding. The assessment has not been reviewed since it was undertaken.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is tired and dated and requires some refurbishment and redecoration. Required maintenance work is not always carried out promptly. This does not reflect the homely environment the manager and staff want for children living in this home.

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good

The last registered manager ceased managing the home in November 2021. The responsible individual took steps to appoint an interim manager from within the organisation, although she is yet to submit her application to register with Ofsted. She is working towards the qualification relevant to her role.

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good

Staff shortages have meant that the manager has worked a number of shifts in order to ensure that the child is cared for by staff who know them well. Although this is positive for the child, this has led to shortfalls in the manager’s oversight of the home.

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good

Staff spoken to describe a supportive environment, and they were positive about the impact the interim manager has had since she was appointed. Staff receive regular supervision and attend team meetings. The organisation’s psychologist has also attended team meetings to support the staff’s understanding of key areas of concern for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 5 The home receives monthly visits from an independent person. However, there has been a delay in sending these reports to Ofsted. Furthermore, the independent person does not consistently state their professional opinion of whether the child living in the home is safeguarded effectively at the time of their visit, as required by regulation.

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good

The review of the quality of care report has been completed. However, the report is descriptive and lacks evaluation. Furthermore, the report does not include feedback from the child or external professionals in order to improve the care and experiences of the child living in the home.

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good

The statement of purpose has not been sent to Ofsted in line with regulation. This means that Ofsted does not have the most up-to-date information about who is working at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(b) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children are supported to access specialist services to promote their health. 16 March 2022

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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; 16 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 7 that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all strategies used to minimise risks are recorded in children’s plans, that strategies identified are followed by staff, that actions identified in the fire risk assessment are completed and reviewed, and that the home environment is improved and maintained so as to protect children from harm and provide a homely environment.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 16 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager submitting their application to register with Ofsted. 16 March 2022

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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— 16 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 8 details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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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

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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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

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Requirement Due date

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)(ii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that records demonstrate staff action taken to avoid use of measures and consultation with children regarding each measure.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to records of incidents where children have gone missing from the home. 16 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 16 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 9 there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI of any relevant incidents without delay.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the independent person states their opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded, and that reports are sent to HMCI in a timely manner. 16 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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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 feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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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 (1) (2)(b)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must improve the evaluative content of the quality of care review and include the opinions of stakeholders. 16 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 10

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children have access to a computer and the internet to support their education and learning. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.19)

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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: SC068206 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspector

Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 12 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 children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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