Children's home run by Social Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 1 Registered provider: Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home that provides care for up to three children. The home’s statement of purpose states that children living in this home may have a range of social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in April 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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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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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: 2553543 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in key areas of their lives. Children are happy and like living here. The children have lived in the home since it opened. This stability has provided them with a sense of permanence and belonging. Both children have pets which they enjoy looking after.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly attend and achieve in education. One child has had some time off school. The manager and staff have worked closely with school professionals to support the child to return to education. One child has received an award as the longest serving student at her school. She is on track to achieve her GCSEs and has already secured an apprenticeship due to start in September.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children have their individual health needs met. This includes their emotional and mental health needs. One child would not engage with child and adolescent mental health services, so staff had monthly meetings to discuss strategies to work with the child. The manager and staff team work closely with external support agencies to try to understand the individual needs of children, to ensure that they received the right care and support to meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with family members is actively promoted and supported by staff. Children, where possible, enjoy overnight stays with family members. This helps children to retain their relationships with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively promote children’s peer relationships. They have got to know one child’s friends and facilitate activities for them at the weekend such as roller skating. Staff are welcoming and children can have friends visit them in the home. This means that children have a safe and friendly environment in which to socialise and engage in positive activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s independence is promoted in line with their individual plans. One social worker said the staff are ‘driving independence and are being creative with future plans’. The manager plans to provide ongoing support to one child when she moves on from the home to live independently. This support and approach will help the child to positively transition from the home to independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are appropriately furnished and decorated to the children’s tastes. The home is large, and children have enough space for time alone and privacy. However, some areas of the home require fresh decoration, and cleaning of the home could be improved. Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 3

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improvement to be good

Children have individual, up-to-date risk management plans which effectively address children’s known risks. Staff understand the risks, and the strategies identified in the plans to reduce risks are clear and effective. Where an identified risk is no longer relevant to a child, these risks are removed from their plans with a clear rationale. These risk management plans are used effectively to help children feel safe and protected.

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improvement to be good

Since living in the home, risks for children have reduced. One child was identified as being at high risk of child sexual exploitation and would regularly go missing. Since living at the home, the risk of child sexual exploitation has reduced for this child and there have been no incidents of missing from home episodes since July 2020.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment of new staff is done safely with all the relevant checks being completed. These safe recruitment procedures make sure that children are protected by preventing unsuitable adults from working in the home. Children can identify a trusted adult in the staff team and say that they are able to talk to staff about things that are worrying them.

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improvement to be good

There has been one incident in the home which has led to a physical intervention. However, recording of the incident did not identify that a physical intervention took place. As such, the correct procedures were not followed, meaning that the child and staff involved in the incident did not have the opportunity to reflect on the incident and identify any learning from the incident.

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improvement to be good

Three allegations regarding staff have been made in the reporting period. Two allegations have not been dealt with in line with child protection procedures. For one allegation, there is no record of discussions with the staff member around the allegation and the rationale for the action taken, following the outcome of the investigation. This staff member has now left the home. On another occasion, an incident was not recognised as an allegation and so the appropriate procedure was not followed. These two allegations took place during the period that the registered manager was away from work. A requirement has been made.

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good

The registered manager has recently returned to the home after a period of maternity leave. There was an interim manager in post; however, he did not apply to register in a timely manner, resulting in the home being without a registered manager for nine months. The staff team is supporting children to achieve good outcomes. However, there are weaknesses in the leadership and management of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 4 The home is suitably staffed. There is a long-standing and consistent staff team. This provides the children with continuity of care. Staff are all working towards their level 3 qualification. They have all received relevant training.

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good

Staff receive supervision regularly. However, these discussions are not always reflective. This means that staff do not have the opportunity to review incidents or identify improvements in the quality of care provided for children.

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good

Lack of effective monitoring means that the manager has not always recognised the failure to follow the correct procedure, to safeguard children. Ineffective monitoring means that opportunities to learn from incidents and develop practice can be missed.

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good

The manager has failed to notify Ofsted when there has been an allegation about staff. This hinders Ofsted’s ability to review the information in notifications to ensure that the provider has taken the necessary steps.

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good

The rota does not currently record the actual hours worked by staff. This means that an accurate record is not available should there be any safeguarding concerns raised in the future.

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good

The statement of purpose should be kept up to date and any changes must be sent to Ofsted. A requirement has been raised in relation to this regulation. Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 5

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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 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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to child protection procedures not being consistently followed when children make allegations about staff. 22 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 6 The registered person must—

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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 (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to the updated statement of purpose being sent to Ofsted. 22 March2022

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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; and the registered provider—

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge 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)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to there being no registered manager in post for 9 months. 22 March2022

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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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; 22 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 7 a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that Ofsted is notified of allegations against staff.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The provider needs to record on rosters all hours that all staff have worked, including the registered manager. 22 March 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that supervision allows staff the opportunity to reflect on their own feelings and behaviours, and how these may affect the children they care for. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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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: 2553543 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Social Care Services Group, 31 Shaw Road, Stockport SK4 4AG

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Inspector

Rachael Crook, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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