Children's home run by Next Stage 4Life Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 1 Registered provider: Next Stage 4Life Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there was one child living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 27 September 2021

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 3

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inadequate

There are serious shortfalls in safeguarding practice, care planning and the leadership and management of the home. These weaknesses have had a significant and negative effect on children’s safety and limited their experiences and progress.

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inadequate

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home. Since the last inspection, one other child has moved into and then left the home.

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inadequate

Staff do not understand the individual needs of the child who is living at the home because they do not have access to their relevant plans, including local authority care plans and the child’s health information. The child is therefore not receiving well-planned care that is addressing all their needs and promoting their safety and well-being.

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inadequate

Relationships between children and staff are not always positive. When a child made a complaint about staff, it was not addressed. This does not show that the children are being listened to or that the children and staff are being supported to develop positive relationships.

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inadequate

Staff did not take effective action to resolve incidents of verbal and physical aggression between children. Children were not helped to develop the skills and strategies to manage conflicts and peer relationships. This lack of support for children meant that they felt unsafe in the home.

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inadequate

The child living at the home has not made sufficient academic progress since the last inspection. Their school attendance has declined significantly, and they have not been able to return to their school placement. Although staff are encouraging the child to engage in educational activities in the home, there is not a robust plan in place to address the child’s educational needs.

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inadequate

The child has regular help and support from a consultant therapist. The therapist praised the support that staff provide to the child. However, the nurturing approach used by staff is not always reflected in the child’s records. Staff have used stigmatising and unhelpful language, which does not demonstrate a good understanding of the child’s individual needs or how staff are helping them.

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

There are serious and widespread failings in the assessment and management of risk. The manager and staff do not fully understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe. Risk management plans are ineffective as they do not contain sufficient information about the current child’s known risks. Staff are not provided Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 4 with clear risk management strategies. Staff have therefore been unable to safeguard children, which has led to them experiencing harm.

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

There has been an inadequate response when children have gone missing from the home. Staff practice is ineffective and inconsistent because they are not provided with a sufficiently clear plan with detailed strategies for them to follow.

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

When a child has been missing from the home for extended periods, staff have missed opportunities to meet with them to check on their welfare and encourage them to return home. Staff are not actively searching areas where the child is known to visit or going to addresses that are known to be a concern. This poor practice, together with ineffective oversight from managers, has placed the child at risk of harm.

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

One child has returned from periods of being missing with injuries that are not consistent with their explanations. Staff’s lack of understanding and professional curiosity to challenge these explanations has left the child vulnerable to exploitation and violent relationships.

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

Staff have not taken effective action when a child has made disclosures, including that they do not feel safe or that they have consumed alcohol. Failing to take effective action in response to one child’s disclosure left them at risk of harm, because a significant health need was not addressed in a timely manner.

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

The response to incidents of bullying in the home has been inadequate. When children said that they felt unsafe, these feelings were not explored or responded to. This lack of support for children does not demonstrate that staff understand the impact that bullying can have on children’s emotional health and well-being.

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

The child has not received consistent help and support to develop their understanding of how to keep safe. Staff have not provided the child with appropriate advice and support about their specific health needs or unhealthy relationships. This poor practice has contributed to the child experiencing harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager post has been vacant since March 2022. Staff have been supported by interim managers and service managers from within the company.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

In the absence of a permanent manager, oversight of significant events has been ineffective. Significant safeguarding incidents have not been responded to appropriately, which has placed children at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have not always been sufficient staff to meet the child’s needs and protect them from harm. A child was able to leave the home at night on several occasions without the knowledge of staff. Despite the child suffering harm as a result of this, Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 5 managers did not review staffing arrangements to consider the use of waking night staff as a strategy to reduce this risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Oversight of training records is poor and there are gaps in staff training. Not all staff have received training in issues which are relevant to the specific needs of the child. The means that they lack the relevant information and skills to support the child effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight of recruitment files is not sufficiently robust. One staff member continued to work in the home for three weeks despite their Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate being out of date. This unsafe practice places children at increased risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are receiving regular supervision. However, this is not practice-related and therefore does not drive improvements in the quality of care provided to the child. Staff are not supported to reflect on significant incidents. This is a missed opportunity for staff to learn from incidents and improve their practice where it is ineffective and not reducing risk of harm to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Ofsted has not been notified of all significant events, including when a child was missing for 10 days. This does not support effective monitoring and therefore compromises children’s welfare and safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Due to the safeguarding concerns, Ofsted is of the view that if further children move into the home this would compromise the safety of the child already living there, as well as that of any new children moving in. Based on the information outlined above, Ofsted has issued a notice of restriction of accommodation at the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 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, 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff understand children’s individual health needs and have access to any relevant plans, such as child looked after health reports.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s health needs, such as their dental health needs and sexual health needs, are addressed in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that children receive appropriate help and advice to understand their own health needs and how to meet them. 30 October 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 7 The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same; 30 October 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 8 de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) 2(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(xii)(xiii)(b))

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there are detailed risk assessments that provide clear directions for staff to follow to reduce risks to children. This includes plans to reduce the risks to children who are missing from home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff take effective action in response to safeguarding incidents, including incidents of children going missing, incidents of bullying, incidents of self-harm and occasions when children make safeguarding disclosures. 30 October 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 9 *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

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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff have received training in county lines, child sexual exploitation, alcohol and substance misuse, bullying and self- harm, and that they can demonstrate in practice that they can apply this knowledge effectively to meet the needs of children living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they implement an effective monitoring system which includes, but is not limited to, monitoring of significant events, the quality of care provided to children and staff recruitment files. 30 October 2022

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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 30 October 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 10 that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s care plans are current and reflective of their individual needs and that these are informed by the local authority plans for the child’s care.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)) 30 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff members who work in the home have a current DBS certificate and are not allowed to work in the home if the DBS certificate expires. 30 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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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)(a)(b)(c)) 30 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. 30 October 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 11 The registered person must—

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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 ensuring that duty rosters accurately reflect which members of staff are working in the home and the hours that they work.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they keep HMCI informed when a child is missing from home for an extended period of time, to enable effective monitoring. 30 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any debriefs with children following incidents of being missing from home contain sufficient information to demonstrate what happened and the action they have taken to support the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 12

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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: 2602585 13

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Next Stage 4Life Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Regency House, 45-53 Chorley New Road, Bolton BL1 4QR

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Inspectors

Emma Thornton, Social Care Inspector Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2602585 14 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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