Children's Home run by Rockhopper Children’s Services Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report for children’s home: 2648868 1 Registered provider: Kedleston (Wood Grove Childcare) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately run. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for up to five children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2022. This is the first inspection since the home was registered in October 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2648868 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are developing positive and trusting relationships with staff. Children live in a homely environment that they are encouraged to personalise. Photographs, artwork and pets in the home all contribute to children feeling at ease.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are involved in their plans before they move in. Managers take steps to try to make this time as pleasant as possible for children. Staff have offered to support children’s previous placements prior to them moving in so as to help this transition. Children value this support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The provider was only registered in October 2021 and has had a number of staffing difficulties. Managers have been actively recruiting and addressing poor practise to ensure that good-quality, child-focused care is provided. However, the changes in the staff team have had an impact on the consistency of care provided to children. For example, some difficulties in communication have led to missed appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Daily plans are not structured enough for one child, who is not currently in education. Online learning is limited and so the child is not making progress in line with her levels of ability. Plans to return to school have drifted and work completed in the home is not aspirational. As a result, the child has felt bored at times.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported with their individual health needs. Staff carefully consider the impact of one child’s health needs on her daily life, and staff have put things in place to ensure that she is safe in and out of the home. This means that she is not limited by her disability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff promoted children’s understanding of equality and diversity. By raising awareness, children are encouraged to be more comfortable with their individual identity. Staff have also made efforts to rebuild children’s perceptions of emergency services when necessary. As a result, children have happily received support when needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use positive reinforcement to help guide children. Creative and engaging incentive plans have been effective in encouraging children to learn new skills, build self-esteem and be safer. Plans are also reviewed regularly to help children make progress in different areas.

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

Managers and staff work with the clinical team to seek effective strategies to help children with their needs. As a result, there has been a reduction in the frequency and level of risk in several areas, including self-harm, physical intervention and children going missing from care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2648868 3 Physical intervention is used as a last resort and has reduced after direct work with children. Detailed records of all incidents are written and reviewed by managers. However, staff do not receive a debrief. Manager’s evaluations do not always review whether the steps taken by staff are appropriate. This is a missed opportunity for providing support and encouraging learning and reflection.

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

Staff take appropriate steps to locate children who leave the home without agreement. Staff regularly update risk assessments with relevant information and clear guidance that is bespoke to individual children’s needs. Children are also encouraged to explore patterns of behaviour and are provided with safer alternatives.

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

Managers ensure that staff are recruited safely. Agency staff have been working in the home due to staff shortages. Managers have considered safety plans and training needs and have introduced additional handover periods to improve consistency. However, rotas do not clearly reflect this. This reduces managers’ oversight of who is in the home and when.

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

Managers work with other agencies to reduce risk and share information. Strategy meetings have been held when necessary. Managers have also informed the regulator of any serious incidents. This multi-agency working is effective in making children safer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The previously registered manager has been promoted to the position of regional manager. A clear and lengthy handover to a newly registered manager has meant that progress has continued to be made. Both the manager and deputy manager are experienced and qualified. They work closely together in leading the team and are aware of the strengths and weaknesses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular support through supervision and team meetings. Children are also able to share their views through children’s meetings and discussions. However, vague timescales and uncertain allocation of work mean that it is not always clear when actions are to be completed and who by. This has the potential to reduce children’s trust that actions will be completed and has led to some drift and delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have been sensitive to the impact that moving house can have on a child. Managers have taken the opportunity to review in detail when the team has not been successful in supporting children in line with their plans. This means that managers are more likely to be able to help children achieve going forward.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Complaints are taken seriously and acted on. Creative methods are used to resolve complaints so complainants feel heard. Managers also report any allegations or disclosures to relevant safeguarding partners. Steps taken in response have all been appropriate and child focused. Inspection report for children’s home: 2648868 4 Regular monitoring takes place. Through regular auditing, the review of the quality of care and visits from the independent persons, areas for development are recognised and acted on. Managers have challenged the quality of the external monitoring when feedback from families and professionals has not been included. As a result, a more holistic view is now being received.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a range of training to help them meet the needs of the children. Clear monitoring systems are in place to ensure that training is received and has a meaningful impact on the care provided. Agency staff being recruited have also started to attend the company training. This is likely to reduce inconsistency. Inspection report for children’s home: 2648868 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 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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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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)(i)(ii)(vi)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff implementing plans and structured routines, particularly for children who are not in school. Managers need to ensure that plans to return to school do not drift.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to staff being aware of each child’s educational targets and being aspirational when helping children to achieve them. 31 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2648868 6 The registered person must ensure that—

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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. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

The specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that staff take part in a debrief after physically intervening.

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Requirement Due date

Management evaluation must thoroughly review the incident records and consider whether the actions taken by the staff are appropriate. 31 August 2022

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to staff rotas displaying evidence of the full names of staff, actual hours worked and time for staff to handover information. 31 August 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that plans to meet children’s requests and objectives in care planning have clear timescales and are regularly reviewed to avoid unnecessary drift and delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)  The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted and do not prevent the children from receiving the continuity of care that they need (regulation 31(1)). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1) Inspection report for children’s home: 2648868 7

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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: 2648868 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kedleston (Wood Grove Childcare) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kedleston Group Ltd, Unit 8, Brook Business Centre, Cowley Mill Road, Cowley, Uxbridge UB8 2FX

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Inspector

Sylvia Eboigbe, Social Care Inspector Lisa Summers, HMI Inspection report for children’s home: 2648868 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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