Children's Home run by Homes for Support in Cheshire East

Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 1 Registered provider: Homes for Support Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated home provides care for up to two children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that care is provided for children who have emotional and behavioural difficulties (social and emotional difficulties).

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager were registered in June 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

Date of last inspection: 19 January 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children live in the home. One child is in the process of moving to semi- independent living. Both children are happy. One child spoke to the inspector and said, ‘Staff have helped me in more ways than I can say.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean and tidy. The carefully selected furnishings and pictures on the wall add to the homely presentation. Children say they would like fabric sofas as the plastic-coated sofas are ‘sticky and uncomfortable’. The outdoor yard is a relaxing space for children and staff to enjoy. Maintenance of the home is ongoing. Replacement of carpets is required to ensure that the overall upkeep of the home is consistent. A recommendation is made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The health needs of the children are met. All routine appointments are attended by children. Additional health appointments are arranged if necessary. Although drug misuse is low level, children would benefit from additional support through structured key-work sessions in accordance with their health plans. Children would benefit from smoking cessation support. Children who are sexually active would benefit from additional sexual health advice as they reach maturation. A recommendation is made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is promoted for all children. Staff advocated for one child to attend a school that he wanted to go to. In addition, this child also had additional home tutoring in place until the school placement became available. Another child has now completed a bespoke education programme. The result of this is an apprenticeship and enrolment at a local college to continue his education. This is an excellent outcome for this child who previously did not attend education. Staff work in partnership with education providers to ensure that education needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Plans for children who are moving on from the home factor in the wishes and feelings of children. One child told the inspector that his views had been listened to and he was pleased with the outcome. This child now has his own flat. The planned move ensures that staff are available to support the child as he settles into his new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family members are happy with the progress that their children are making. Parents report positive communication and noticeable improvements in their children since living at the home. Family time is promoted. Staff transport children to see their family. Staff use this time effectively to talk to children about their views and progress in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are able to take part in several activities to improve their social and emotional skills. Children enjoy joint activities with staff, such as cinema trips. Staff and children took part in a fun run to raise money for charity. This promotes the family environment and a sense of belonging for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 4

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

Risk assessments are clearly written and detailed to outline the risks for each child. Plans to support the management of behaviour are child friendly and easy for children to understand.

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

The manager regularly updates the assessment of risk relating to children living together in the home. This ensures that any emerging risks and behaviours are quickly identified, and management strategies are put in place to minimise risks.

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

Staff follow the missing from care protocol when children go missing. Since the last inspection, there has been one recorded episode of missing from care. All relevant paperwork was completed, and relevant professionals notified. Strategies are now in place to prevent a reoccurrence. Missing from care documents are reviewed monthly.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been no notifications of serious incidents to Ofsted. There have been no physical interventions to manage behaviours. Children are settled and happy.

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

Consequences are reasonable and proportionate. Debriefs take place with children to ensure that children understand why a consequence may be in place. Managers use a child-friendly ‘privilege system’. This system helps children to understand their risks and why their behaviour may be of concern.

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

The manager completes a thorough overview of consequences to ensure that they are evaluated and effective. A reward chart is in place. However, achievements are not celebrated to encourage positive behaviour. Celebrating achievements helps children to build their confidence.

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

A local area risk assessment is completed. This is updated with information from the police safeguarding unit. The information helps to protect children in their local area by identifying local concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is reflective and analytical. The manager has grown in confidence and skills and has a good understanding of the children in the home. The manager is respected by his staff. Staff say they enjoy coming to work. One staff member said, ‘We are like a big family.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of documents and reports on children’s records are detailed and comprehensive. For example, the minutes from a meeting in school clearly outlined the concerns that the child was experiencing in school. The detailed overview in the report helped to understand the triggers and behaviours. Therefore, the document helped to ensure that the child is supported in school with a clear action plan. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 5 The manager has helped to develop the provider-led referral-in assessment. This is an overall improvement. However, the document requires further development to ensure that it contains a multi-agency view when considering new children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home utilises two electronic filing systems. Consequently, key documents were missing on children’s records, for example education and health assessments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Due to staff shortages, managers contracted a high number of agency staff to cover shifts. Staff said that this was a challenging time. The lack of staff resources increased the workload for core staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all staff on shift are trained in first aid training. The manager was unable to confirm if agency staff are qualified in first aid. Staff would benefit from specialised training to help them support children in the home. Key-work discussions take place. However, there was a lack of evidence-based practice and how this is used in direct work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes effective use of the internal and external monitoring of the service. An independent person provides a review of the home. The quality of these reports has recently improved. However, there is a lack of consistency in capturing the views of children and professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 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, Childrens 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 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

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

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d)(e)(g)(i)(h)) 31 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home environment is suitably equipped with furniture, including carpets and sofas. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 7  The registered person should ensure that all staff are suitably trained and qualified in first aid. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. In particular, this relates to smoking cessation, substance misuse and sexual health knowledge. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10)  The registered person should ensure that there is independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent monitoring (including

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Recommendations

under regulation 44) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that the behaviour management strategy should be understood and applied by staff. This includes encouraging and celebrating positive behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)

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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: 2638736 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes for Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1st Floor, Cloister House, Riverside, New Bailey Street, Manchester M3 5FS

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Inspectors

Kamal Bhamra, Social Care Inspector Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2638736 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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