Children's Home run by Hopedale Children and Family Services Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC444869 1 SC444869 Registered provider: Hopedale Children and Family Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to 15 children who have suffered adverse childhood experience that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 22 September 2020 and is suitably qualified.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC444869 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/11/2019 Full Good 14/01/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC444869 3

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improvement to be good

Staff build good relationships with the children living in the home. Staff’s approach to care is nurturing, and children say that they enjoy living in the home. One professional said that the manager is a good role model for the children and that practice in the home is ‘excellent’. This helps the children to make progress and feel a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that education is promoted. Children have full attendance and are on track to achieve predicted grades. Education staff say that communication with the home is good.

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improvement to be good

The staff are passionate about seeing children learn new skills, develop their interests and make happy memories. When in the home, children enjoy using the play equipment, playing on the trampoline in the garden, and learning new skills in the music room. Outside of the home, children enjoy visiting the local climbing park and eating out at various restaurants. Activities encourage children to have fun and build relationships.

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with local health services and are supported to attend routine appointments. Children are also supported to engage in clinical sessions, supported by the homes’ clinical team. This helps to improve children’s psychological and emotional health. However, children’s healthcare plans are not always followed and do not contain all important information. For example, when a child was found to have enuresis, there were no records of this in his health plan. In addition, a child’s plan specifies that staff should track patterns of toileting, but this is not completed. This inconsistent practice could have implications for children’s health and well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff are committed to establishing trusting relationships with children. Staff complete individual key-working sessions and group meetings with the children to discuss feelings, behaviours and day-to-day experiences. This practice demonstrates a commitment to building meaningful relationships and helps children to influence their day-to-day care.

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improvement to be good

The home is welcoming and well furnished. Since the last inspection, the children’s bedrooms have been redecorated and the staff have created a well-equipped library for the children to relax in. This promotes a sense of pride and helps the children to feel comfortable.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to spend time with their families and friends. Staff complete weekly calls to children’s loved ones to provide an update on the children. This helps children to maintain relationships that are important to them. Inspection report children’s home: SC444869 4

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding arrangements require improvement. Managers have failed to ensure that an allegation made by a child was investigated and referred to the local designated officer. Furthermore, the child was not provided with an update from the manager. This approach to safeguarding fails to protect children and staff.

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improvement to be good

During the inspection, staff could identify the steps that they would take to respond to and prevent children’s risk-taking behaviours. However, the written risk assessments do not always provide clear guidance and strategies for staff to follow. For example, one child’s risk assessment states that staff should complete phone checks; however, there is no information about frequency. In addition, one child’s self-harm risk assessment states that night checks should be completed. However, there is no detail for staff about how this should take place. Therefore, plans do not reflect all that the staff should be doing to keep children safe. While this has had no impact, it has the potential to compromise children’s safety and lead to inconsistencies in staff practice.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions are used as a last resort and, since the last inspection, interventions have reduced. There have been changes to the recording system, and the manager has introduced a flow chart to ensure that there is added scrutiny if staff use an advanced intervention. While this has improved one area of practice, shortfalls remain. The manager does not ensure that all staff members are provided with a debrief following the use of physical intervention. Furthermore, when additional staff join the intervention, the time and duration are not always recorded. This lack of management oversight and ineffective recording does not provide assurances that all interventions are proportionate and necessary.

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improvement to be good

Children have positive day-to-day experiences. Staff use incentives effectively. Some children have individualised reward charts, and the staff celebrate individual achievements by nominating a ‘star of the week’. This practice means that children’s progress is being recognised by staff.

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improvement to be good

Medication arrangements are not consistent. There are times when staff have not documented if children were offered or received their medication. The manager has failed to identify or respond to this shortfall. This practice has the potential to impact children’s health and well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff carry out regular health and safety checks to ensure that the home is safe. The home has a location risk assessment; however, it does not consider the risk of the adjacent school. For example, there is the potential for teachers and students to mix between both the home and the school. This is a missed opportunity to reduce risk and to fully review the home’s location. Inspection report children’s home: SC444869 5 Recruitment practices are safe, and staff who work in the home are subject to all necessary checks. This ensures that only suitable people work in the home.

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good

The manager acknowledges the shortfalls identified at inspection. During the inspection, the manager shared the actions that he would complete to rectify some of the shortfalls identified and to improve the quality of care provided to children.

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good

The staff group are consistent and stable. Team meetings are regular and reflective. During the inspection, staff told the inspectors that they feel valued and that managers are supportive. This means that children receive care from dedicated staff members, which has enabled children to build trusting relationships.

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good

Managers have not always ensured that there have been sufficient staff. For example, the home’s statement of purpose states that there should be three night staff working and there are occasions where there have been only two. Furthermore, the rotas do not record the details of the actual staff who have worked in the home. For example, it was identified during inspection that the staff from the adjacent school had supported the children, and this was not clear on the rota. This does not provide assurances that children are consistently receiving sufficient care. The managers have recognised the impact of this shortfall and, during inspection, implemented a new recording system to improve this practice.

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good

Since the last inspection, staff have received further training. This includes mandatory training and training specific to the children’s presenting needs. To complement training, staff then review children’s needs and training received in regular team meetings, which allows managers and the clinical team to check understanding and provide further advice where required. This has helped to increase staff knowledge.

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good

The quality of the individual supervision that staff receive is variable. The manager has not ensured that all staff members working in the home have been provided with practice-related supervision. Furthermore, staff in their induction period are not provided with performance reviews in line with the home’s policy. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that there is effective oversight and review of staff practice.

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good

Children’s case files do not contain all the required information from the placing authority. In some cases, there is evidence of the manager requesting the information. However, this has not been escalated and information is still not available. As a result, staff do not always have the most up-to-date information about the children living in the home.

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good

The home’s workforce development plan is not effective. The manager’s plan does not include information about training, timescales for induction or detail for managing and improving performance. Consequently, expectations for staff are not clear. Inspection report children’s home: SC444869 6 The manager has not ensured that the children’s guide helps children to understand the home’s complaints procedure and what action would be taken to respond to a complaint. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that policies are clear for the children and has the potential to affect children’s ability to raise concerns.

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good

The home’s most recent statement of purpose has not been updated in line with the regulation. The document does not provide details of all the staff that work in the home or the arrangements for supervision. This means that Ofsted do not have the most up-to-date information about the care provided.

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good

Since the last inspection, a new independent visitor has been completing monthly audits of the home. These reports are detailed and the manager reports that these reviews are useful. However, the manager’s oversight and internal monitoring systems require improvement. The shortfalls raised at this inspection have not been identified or responded to by the manager. This demonstrates a missed opportunity to ensure that improvements are made and that shortfalls in practice are identified. Inspection report children’s home: SC444869 7

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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 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; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager should ensure that children’s plans are updated and clear and that strategies set out in health plans are followed by staff. 25 August 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)) 25 August 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC444869 8 This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that concerns about staff practice are responded to promptly.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered manager must ensure that children understand the steps taken to investigate and respond to concerns raised against care staff.

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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.

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should also use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a) (2)(d)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that there are sufficient staff to provide care for each child, and that staffing rotas reflect who has worked in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered manager must ensure that monitoring systems are effective in identifying and responding to shortfalls, and monitor the care provided. 25 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (5))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the statement of purpose being up to date with the care that is provided in the home. 25 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. 25 August 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC444869 9 In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that medication is administered to children as prescribed and records are clear.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that all staff working in the home receive practice-related supervision and appraisals. 25 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the used of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which included—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(iv)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that when another person joins the intervention, the time, description and duration are recorded.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person should ensure that all staff involved in the measure receive a debrief following the intervention. 25 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which— 25 August 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC444869 10 include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; and

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that children’s case files hold an up-to-date care plan, education plan and health plan.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide helps children to understand how to make a complaint in line with the home’s complaints procedure. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risk on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5’)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the review of the location includes the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: SC444869 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hopedale Children and Family Services Limited

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Inspectors

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Melanie Griffin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC444869 12 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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