Children's Home run by Fairfield Residential Limited in Trafford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC387148 1 SC387148 Registered provider: Fairfield Residential Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The provider states in their statement of purpose that this home provides care for up to five children with learning disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder. The home is run by a private company and provides education on site at a registered school. The inspector only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since December 2015.

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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: improved effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC387148 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC387148 3

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improvement to be good

Children are happy living at the home, and it is well resourced to meet the children’s needs. However, there are locks on internal doors, and communal rooms are also being used as sleeping quarters for staff in the evenings. These aspects restrict children from being able to freely access communal areas.

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improvement to be good

The home benefits from a school on site, which some of the children attend. However, the home entrance is also used for other students, which can make the home feel less homely.

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improvement to be good

Children are supervised and supported in line with their needs. However, sound monitors used during the night have not been formally agreed by all those with parental responsibility. This impacts on the children’s right to privacy.

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improvement to be good

All children attend school full time and are making progress. Staff supported one child to meet with school staff during the summer holidays to support the transition to education.

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improvement to be good

The staff support time with family, and one child recently celebrated her birthday with a party at the home attended by her family. Families feel welcome and supported by the manager and staff team.

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improvement to be good

Plans for the children outline targets that they are working towards. However, staff do not use information collected to review and develop targets. This limits the potential progress children can make.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s likes and dislikes and support children to take part in leisure activities. One child has recently joined a local football team. This promotes children’s participation in their community.

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improvement to be good

The manager has sought medical advice regarding individual children’s health needs. However, the manager has not sought formal agreement from the placing authority regarding administering medication covertly.

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improvement to be good

Children are safer and more settled because of moving into the home and can access the community safely due to the support from staff. The manager seeks advice from other specialists, including occupational therapists. This has improved the children’s quality of life. Inspection report for children’s home: SC387148 4 Not all staff are aware of the fire procedures. Although this has not directly had an impact on the children, it has the potential to do so.

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improvement to be good

Although the use of bespoke equipment has been agreed and assessed, it is not all included in children’s education, health and care plans (EHC plans) or the home’s statement of purpose. Additionally, there is no clear process for discussing restraint reduction and increasing independence.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand individual children’s needs and respond sensitively to them following risk management plans. Staff are curious about triggers for behaviour. However, records lack detail of how staff have supported children. The manager has not consistently reviewed and evaluated incident reports. This means that strategies and interventions used by staff are not always reviewed for effectiveness.

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good

The manager knows the children well and has good relationships with them. She cares for the children and is a good advocate for them. However, the monitoring systems in place are not always used effectively to monitor progress and identify shortfalls.

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good

The manager is experienced and qualified. Professionals spoke highly of the care provided to children by the manager and the staff team. Staff also say they feel supported by the manager. However, staff training is not reviewed to highlight areas for development.

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good

Independent visits take place monthly and a report is provided. The manager has also completed a review of the quality of care. However, reports do not include feedback. This is a missed opportunity to improve the care provided to children or address any issues.

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good

Rotas do not clearly identify the staff working each day, including agency staff. Rotas also do not allocate time for a handover, which means some of the daily checks have been missed, including medication checks. This could have had an impact on a child’s health.

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good

New staff to the home have been recruited, and safer recruitment principles have been followed. Where the home has used agency staff, there have been efforts to seek consistent staff to ensure continuity for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC387148 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

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to removing internal locks on the doors of communal areas.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to seeking a signed agreement from placing authorities regarding any additional surveillance.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to staff sleeping arrangements. 31 October 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— 31 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC387148 6 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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

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

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the manager ensuring that effective monitoring systems are in place.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to managers seeking feedback to improve the quality of care.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to care plans providing staff with clear aims and objectives in line with placing authority plans that are regularly reviewed to ensure that children are making progress. 31 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC387148 7 After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d)) 31 October 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 evidencing full names of staff and which agency they work for (if applicable), the manager’s hours, actual hours worked and time for staff to hand over information. 31 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 31 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC387148 8 a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

Paragraph (3) does not apply in relation to restraint that is planned or provided for as a matter of routine in the child’s EHC plan or statement of special educational needs. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c) (4))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to managers ensuring that mechanical restraints used are recorded and reviewed in line with regulation.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the use of mechanical restraint is included in the behaviour management policy and statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.44)  The registered person should ensure that the ‘Managing medicines in care homes (March 2014)’ guidelines are implemented. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.17)

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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: SC387148 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Fairfield Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Sylvia Eboigbe, Social Care Inspector Kerri Lynch-Mahoney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC387148 10 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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