Children's home run by Warrington Borough Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC037302 1 SC037302 Registered provider: Warrington Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home is registered to care for up to three children who can no longer live at home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in April 2022.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC037302 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/02/2020 Full Good 07/11/2018 Full Good 13/02/2018 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: SC037302 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, no children have moved in or out of the home. The manager has updated the home’s impact risk assessment to carefully consider any children moving in to the home. She has considered the risks identified in the safer area report and is aware of the local offer, that sets out the support available for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Therefore, she can access additional resources for children when needed. Further to this, she has reflected and evaluated on each child’s assessment to see if this would have changed the original decision to move children into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children live in this home. They told the inspectors that they were happy, safe and well cared for by staff. One child said, ‘I love living here and I have fun.’ Another child said, ‘I am doing well, and I am looking forward to moving into semi- independence.’ Further to this, several professionals and a parent said that children were making good progress at this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand how important it is that children receive good healthcare. For example, a child was reluctant to have further treatment at the dentist because they were unsure of what would happen. Staff worked closely with the dentist, and the child visited the dentist at six-weekly intervals to get familiar with the setting. As a result, the child has had all the treatment that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational outcomes are variable. Children’s attendance at college and work is excellent and children have high aspirations for their futures. However, one child has been receiving 10 hours of education a week for a significant period of time. The manager is working with the virtual head for education and other professionals to ensure that a suitable provision is identified. However, all actions taken to promote and support education is not recorded in the child’s documents. As a result, there is little information on what action the staff are taking. In addition, the staff do not offer additional educational activities to enhance the child’s learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to engage in a range of enjoyable activities. This supports them to develop skills, have fun and build positive friendships. The children have recently been on holiday. One child said, ‘It was great. I loved the open spaces, going for walks and swimming. It was a really chilled time.’

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

Staff have developed good relationships with children and the professionals involved in their care. Children said that they could go and talk to staff if they had a concern.

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

Risk assessments give good information on each child’s vulnerabilities. For example, the assessments summarise risk, outline potential triggers and detail a clear risk management plan. Direct work is completed with children to develop their own understanding of risk. The records are detailed and reflect the child’s view. Inspection report children’s home: SC037302 4 Each child has a personalised missing-from-home protocol. Therefore, staff know how to respond when children go missing from the home. There have been a few incidents where children have left the home at night. Appropriate steps have been taken to address this risk, such as installing stronger window restrictors and discussions with children around safety. Strategy meetings, involving numerous professionals, have been held to address the risk. As a result, there is multi-agency response.

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

The manager appropriately follows all safeguarding procedures and notifies all agencies of safeguarding concerns. Staff understood their role and responsibilities in keeping children safe. There is good multi-agency communication about the needs of the children. Staff advocate for the children when necessary. A professional said, ‘There is a good balance between children’s independence and safety.’

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

Staff adopt a restorative approach to consequences and place the emphasis on rewards for positive behaviour. The manager has good oversight of the consequences given to children. For example, the manager has completed training with staff when consequences have been punitive or do not fit with this model. This means that children receive a fair and consistent response.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a new registered manager at the home. She is suitably experienced and qualified to support children and staff. There is a stable staff team. This means that children are cared for by a staff team that know them well. In addition, all staff have a relevant childcare qualification. This means that staff are clear about their roles in caring for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children, staff, professionals and family members spoken to as part of this inspection were very complimentary about the manager and the staff. A professional said, ‘They are brilliant. The consistency in staffing and their approach means that the children have settled well.’ A parent said, ‘It is a lovely place to live and he is doing great.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular team meetings to discuss the plans for the children, share good practice or reflect on policies and procedures. In addition, they have regular supervision where they can discuss their roles and any practice issues. However, staff do not currently receive an annual appraisal. Therefore, there is not a specific route for staff development or for career advancement to be appraised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

At the last inspection in March 2022, the manager was asked to ensure that staff training was regularly refreshed and that they had a workforce plan. The manager confirmed that some training had been completed, such as medication procedures. However, the home’s training matrix has not been updated with clear information about which staff have attended training, who is still waiting or whether a course has been identified and scheduled. In addition, some training was cancelled and no new date has been made. Therefore, the requirement has been repeated. Similarly, Inspection report children’s home: SC037302 5 the home does have a workforce plan, but it does not identify specific timescales for staff supervision, such as part-time staff or sessional workers. As a result, the recommendation has been repeated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good progress has been made in most of the shortfalls identified at the last inspection. The manager has successfully challenged professionals around children’s missing documents, such as placement plans and education plans. This means that staff have the most up-to-date information to care for children well. Likewise, there is a new independent visitor. The reports are evaluative and they are sent in a timely way to the regulator. The manager said that they are a good tool to help her assess and progress the service. Inspection report children’s home: SC037302 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that the child’s education plan shows the steps taken to secure a full-time educational placement. Further to this, ensure that staff offer educational activities to support the child’s education. 31 August 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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 31 August 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC037302 7 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that staff training is refreshed.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c)) 31 August 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 (paragraphs 19 and 20). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: SC037302 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Time Square, Warrington WA1 2NT

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Inspectors

Pam Nuckley, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Nicola Shaw, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC037302 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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