Children's home run by Halliwell Homes Limited in Staffordshire Moorlands

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC043697 1 SC043697

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Halliwell Homes Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to seven children. The home’s statement of purpose states that children living in this home may experience a range of social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is currently operating without a registered manager. A new manager started his role in August 2022. He is suitably qualified and experienced. He will apply to Ofsted for registration.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted carried out a visit to the home to monitor two compliance notices that were served under regulations 12 and 13 following the home’s full inspection on 15 August 2022. The compliance notices related to insufficient managerial oversight and monitoring and inadequate arrangements for safeguarding children. At the time of this visit, four children were living at the home. The inspector found that suitable action has been taken to meet both compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

A restriction of accommodation notice was served on 17 August 2022 with immediate effect until 8 November 2022. The provider has complied with this notice, as no children have been admitted to the home since the last inspection. However, the restriction of accommodation notice remains in place.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has made some improvements in relation to the safety and protection of children and the general monitoring of the home. Staff have confidence in his management abilities and his presence has brought some reassurance to the staff team. One social worker said that the manager has taken swift action to respond to her concerns about a child’s care and there have been improvements in the oversight of the home in the last few weeks. The manager acknowledges that he requires time to continue to make further improvements, address any shortfalls and embed the changes he has made so far. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC043697 2 The manager has ensured that safe procedures have been appropriately followed when managing allegations, including notifying relevant professionals without delay. The staff team of staff have attended a workshop to refresh their knowledge of allegation management and the use of whistle-blowing. However, the manager has

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This monitoring visit

failed to address the staff team’s broader understanding of dealing with and sharing safeguarding concerns with the appropriate professionals on a wider scale to ensure that children in other care settings are protected.

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This monitoring visit

Appropriate steps have been taken to ensure that activities children access in the community are age appropriate and suitable for them to attend. The manager is yet to explore the broader context of this with the staff and how they should risk assess activities, using their professional curiosity, to make safe judgements about activities for children.

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This monitoring visit

Children have engaged in a safety workshop to ensure that they understand how to travel safely in the car. However, the workshop has failed to educate the children about road safety and the safety implications of children exiting the car on a road or motorway. This is an important piece of work that has been missed by staff, following a previous serious incident with a child travelling on a motorway.

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This monitoring visit

As part of his monthly monitoring, the manager has undertaken a reflective analysis of the use of restraint. He has identified the lack of routine and structure provided to children as a contributing factor to children’s unsettled behaviour. Consequently, the manager has implemented changes to children’s routines, and the staff team is working with children to support these changes. This has brought about a slight reduction in the frequency and duration of incidents for children. The children are starting to settle and are responding positively to the changes.

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This monitoring visit

There continues to be shortfalls in the manager’s oversight of the accuracy of children’s risk assessments. Some risk assessments are not proportionately risk assessed, based on the number of incidents children have been involved in. Some serious incidents have not been accounted for in risk assessments, and one child’s risk assessment does not reflect an up-to-date account of the support they currently receive, for example their current staff ratio. This means that the staff team is provided with inaccurate information about children’s levels of risks, their current risk-taking behaviour and the support strategies that are in place to reduce risk.

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This monitoring visit

There remains a shortfall in the number of staff working in the home. Five members of staff have now submitted their resignation. That said, there are enough staff each day to care for the four children living in the home. The manager is working to ensure that children are provided with consistent support on a day-to-day basis from the core staff team, staff who they know from other homes and, on occasions, agency staff who are also known to the children. There is evidence that the number of agency staff being used in the home is reducing on a weekly basis. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC043697 3 Following a practice-related investigation, in relation to two serious incidents, all staff have attended a safeguarding and whistle-blowing workshop. Additionally, two members of staff have revisited missing-from-home training to improve their understanding of the procedures they must follow. The manager has arranged

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This monitoring visit

training to develop staff’s knowledge of children’s needs and risks, specifically attachment and sexually harmful behaviour training. This has not yet taken place, but there are clear plans in place for this to be facilitated.

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This monitoring visit

Suitable action has been taken to improve the security of the home, in relation to external gates remaining closed and the safe vetting of visitors to the home.

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This monitoring visit

There have been improvements to the cleanliness of the home. Daily routines have been implemented to ensure that children’s bedrooms and the home environment are kept clean, safe and tidy. The external grounds are free from hazards and are well maintained. However, children’s bedrooms still require some repair and redecoration.

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This monitoring visit

The remaining areas of concern raised at the full inspection were not looked at during this visit. Therefore, they remain requirements and recommendations until the home’s next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC043697 4

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 15/08/2022 Full Inadequate 14/07/2021 Full Good 07/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC043697 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, 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them 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 premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)) 6 November 2022

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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. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)) 25 September

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(v)) 6 November 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC043697 6 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 6 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), 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 (1) (3)(a) (5)) 25 September

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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)) 25 September

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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

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d)) 25 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 25 September Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC043697 7 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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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

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 25 September

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC043697 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Halliwell Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Pearce House, 80 Cawdor Street, Eccles M30 0QF

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Inspector

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC043697 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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