Children's Home run by Fairfield Residential Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 1 SC397987 Registered provider: Fairfield Residential Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two children with learning disabilities. It was registered by Ofsted in October 2009.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is currently without a registered manager since December 2021.

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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 3 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: 10 October 2019

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requires improvement to be good

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: SC397987 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/10/2019 Full Good 06/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/09/2018 Full Good 22/11/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 3

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improvement to be good

During this inspection, the inspector identified significant shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home. For example, the home has been without a registered manager since May 2021. This means that the monitoring and oversight of the home have failed to identify several shortfalls that have the potential to impact on children’s progress and day-to-day experiences at the home.

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improvement to be good

Leaders do not always maintain the physical environment of the home to a good standard. Although some parts of the home are homely, this is not consistently the case. Many areas of the home have been damaged and have not been repaired. Also, leaders have failed to remove a number of safety hazards. This lack of oversight has the potential to compromise children’s safety. However, the management team acted during the inspection to address some of the shortfalls identified and has plans in place to make further improvements.

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improvement to be good

Despite some of the shortfalls identified, some children make progress. This is because staff provide specific care to meet children’s individual needs, which helps them to develop. For example, one child’s communication skills have improved since moving into the home. Furthermore, staff have supported the child to become more independent and confident in engaging with community activities. This means that children grow in confidence and improve their independence skills.

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improvement to be good

Staff and children share positive relationships at the home. One child’s parent stated that staff treat their child ‘like their own son’ and that the ‘little things that staff do are making a huge difference’. Staff use these relationships to capture children’s wishes and feelings about the home. However, children’s views are not consistently used to help leaders make improvements to the home. For example, the home’s children’s guide has not been reviewed and does not provide children with up-to- date information. This means that important information is not always available to children.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home and two children have left the home. Staff and leaders have supported children and their families effectively with these moves. For example, staff created a social story to help provide one child with information on the home. They also ensured that the move into the home was well planned and supported. One child’s parent stated that they were ‘really impressed with how [the home] showed attention to detail’ and that they ‘felt reassured throughout’. This reassurance helps children to settle and feel welcomed into the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand and support children’s health needs effectively. They work with health professionals to ensure that children receive the required support to meet their needs. For example, one child’s health plan was reviewed by a medical Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 4 professional and changes were made to the strategies for staff to follow. In addition, the deputy manager has developed a clear protocol for staff to follow when administering one child’s medication. This means that staff are supported to meet children’s health needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff work creatively with education professionals to engage children with their learning. This means that children make progress from their starting points. For example, the inspector observed school staff collecting one child to support him with his individualised timetable. This support has helped to improve the child’s attendance and engagement with his education.

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improvement to be good

Leaders have not followed safe recruitment practice when employing new staff to work in the home. For example, they have failed to verify the reasons why staff have left previous employment involving work with children. Furthermore, they have failed to identify or follow up on inaccuracies in the dates provided by staff as part of their employment history. These shortfalls mean that leaders cannot be fully assured about the suitability of people they employ. This has the potential to compromise children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

The assessment of risk to children is inconsistent. For example, when completing impact assessments, the management team has failed to assess the potential risks that children can present to each other. This shortfall has the potential to compromise children’s safety. However, other risk assessments in place to safeguard children are regularly reviewed and contain clear strategies for staff to follow.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children effectively when they become distressed. This is because children’s plans are clear and staff understand what to do. For example, the deputy manager has produced a step-by-step guide for staff to follow to support one child. This supportive approach means that there have been no incidents requiring physical restraint with children since the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from the home. There have been no missing-from-home incidents since the last inspection. The deputy manager ensures that children’s protocols are regularly updated and provide staff with important information. This means that staff are well-prepared to respond to incidents effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since May 2021. Senior leaders appointed a new manager without carrying out checks to ensure that the person had the relevant skills and experience. As a result, the manager has now taken on the role of the deputy manager, and the service manager is supporting with the day- to-day running of the home. Consequently, the home continues to operate without a registered manager. This has the potential to impact on children’s progress and the quality of care delivered at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 5 Leaders do not always assess and review staff’s knowledge to ensure that they have the skills to keep children safe. For example, staff have not completed self-harm or online safety training, which is specific to the needs of the children. Furthermore, staff have failed to complete training in the administration of medication, despite this being requested by the deputy manager. This means that staff are not

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

consistently provided with the skills to enable them to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders’ monitoring and oversight of the home do not always identify areas for improvement. For example, the systems used failed to identify shortfalls in recruitment, hazards in the environment and staff training. Furthermore, the home’s formal quality of care review does not capture feedback from children, parents and carers or external professionals to improve practice. These shortfalls have the potential to compromise children’s safety and leave them vulnerable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders have ensured that an independent person has been appointed to provide external monitoring and oversight. However, the independent person has failed to visit the home consistently. They have also failed to speak regularly to children, professionals and family members. Also, the reports produced fail to assess whether children are safeguarded effectively. Consequently, external monitoring systems fail to offer adequate challenge and do not improve the experiences of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management team has ensured that the home is sufficiently staffed to meet the needs of children. Staff receive regular supervision and feel supported in their role. However, supervision sessions are not always reflective and do not identify actions for staff to improve their practice. This has the potential to impact on the care received by children at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

An up-to-date copy of the home’s statement of purpose has not been submitted to Ofsted. This means that the regulator is not provided with accurate and up-to-date information about the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders are beginning to take action to address the home’s shortfalls. For example, a new independent person has been appointed to carry out external monitoring of the home. In addition, there is a recruitment plan in place to appoint a permanent manager to manage the home. However, these actions and systems are not yet embedded to improve the day-to-day care delivered by staff at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 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, 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider should ensure that the home’s children’s guide is regularly reviewed and that children are spoken to as part of the review. 30 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider should ensure that assessments effectively assess the risks that children potentially pose to one another before children are moved into the home. 30 March 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 7 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 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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the maintenance of the home to replace broken furniture, repair of damage to the property and ensuring that hazards are identified and removed to safeguard children. 30 March 2022

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider should ensure that staff complete self-harm, administration of medication and internet safety training to equip them with the skills to meet the specific needs of the children. Also, leaders are to ensure that monitoring systems are used to identify areas for improvement in the quality of care received by children. 30 March 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 8 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose is updated to include an accurate reflection of the home. Furthermore, the provider should send a revised copy to Ofsted within 28 days of the review. 30 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; and

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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

In particular, the provider should ensure that a person is appointed to manage the children’s home. Furthermore, any manager appointed should submit their application to register with Ofsted. 30 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 30 March 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 9 The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders should ensure that they carry out checks when staff have previously worked with children and that dates provided in staff’s employment history are reviewed and verified.

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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

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced.

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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 conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. 30 March 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 10 The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the visits to the home made by the independent person. It also relates to leaders supporting the independent person to gain the views and wishes of children living at the home as well as external professionals and parents. In particular, the independent person’s report should ensure that recommendations are made for improving the quality of care received by children at the home.

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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 quality of care provided for children;

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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

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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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)(a)(b)(c) (3) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider should ensure that the opinions of children and the important people involved in children’s lives have been sought to develop the home. 30 March 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 11

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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: SC397987 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Fairfield Residential Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 108 Whitworth Road, Rochdale OL12 0JJ

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Inspector

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC397987 13 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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