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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC470224 1 SC470224 Registered provider: Halliwell Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a private children’s home that provides care for up to 10 children. The home’s statement of purpose states that children living in this home may have 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 her role in August 2022. She is suitably qualified and experienced. She will apply to Ofsted for registration.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Two compliance notices were served under regulation 12 and 13 following the home’s full inspection on 21 June 2022. During a monitoring visit on 2 August 2022, the inspector found that suitable action had been taken to meet both compliance notices. A restriction of accommodation notice was served on 23 June 2022 with immediate effect until 15 September 2022. During a monitoring visit on 13 Inspection report for children’s home: SC470224 2 September 2022, Ofsted found that the provider had complied with this notice, as no children have been admitted to the home since the last inspection. However, a second restriction of accommodation notice was served on 14 September 2022 with immediate effect until 6 December 2022. This is because inspectors identified poor practice relating to the safeguarding of children and the overall management of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC470224 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2022 Full Inadequate 28/07/2021 Full Good 18/12/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 25/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC470224 4

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improvement to be good

A new manager is now in post. She was recruited through an internal appointment and is familiar with the children and the staff team. She has brought reassurance and some stability to both the children and the staff team following a very difficult period in the home. Social workers and parents have reported some positive changes in the last few weeks. Children appear more relaxed and they look better cared for. Children told the inspectors that they are happier with the current manager overseeing the home.

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improvement to be good

Children continue to routinely attend school. One child has successfully moved to mainstream school as planned. There has been a delay in another child’s transition to mainstream school. However, this delay has been to prevent him from having numerous school changes before he moves permanently to foster care.

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improvement to be good

Some required documents from children’s placing authorities were not available to review at the inspection, for example up-to-date care plans, signed delegated medical consent, and children’s individual care orders. While there is evidence that the manager has requested these documents, they have not been received and are required to ensure that the staff team can track children’s progress against the agreed placing authority plans. This was a requirement at the last inspection and has been restated.

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improvement to be good

Children engage in some planned key-work sessions. When children are involved in incidents, key-work sessions are used to talk about their behaviour. However, there is little evidence to demonstrate that children have the opportunity to talk about their views of their care plan or the progress they are making in the home.

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improvement to be good

The quality of children’s meetings has improved. Children are encouraged to share their views and talk about their experiences of living together. The meetings have been used to offer reassurance to children following the significant changes to the staff and management team. This is important, as these uncertain times have unsettled children over the last few months.

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improvement to be good

There continue to be improvements to the home environment and children are happy with the changes made, particularly the time and effort put into the personalisation of their bedrooms. The manager has implemented clear daily routines for staff, to ensure that the home is kept safe, clean and tidy. Inspection report for children’s home: SC470224 5

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improvement to be good

The manager has started to implement changes to improve children’s safety and to educate staff about safer caring for children, the protection of children and risk reduction.

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improvement to be good

There are still some shortfalls in risk management. This relates specifically to the risk factors that have been identified for one child in relation to child sexual exploitation. A risk management plan had not been put in place to address the child’s level of risk associated with child sexual exploitation. Additionally, staff have not been provided with clear guidance about the action they should take to keep the child safe. The manager took action during the inspection to implement a risk management plan for staff to support the child.

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improvement to be good

Some children have displayed regressive behaviours, such as an increase in incidents that have required restraint, or they are trying to withdraw from engaging with the staff team. The manager has identified triggers to children’s behaviour, and she is taking steps to provide children with the settled environment that will help them to make progress and feel safe and secure.

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improvement to be good

Records of room searches are sometimes not completed. In addition, some records do not include the action that staff have taken or the items that they have removed to keep children safe, such as mobile phones. The records are also unclear about children’s understanding of why certain items have been removed and if children have had the opportunity to consent to the room search.

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improvement to be good

The use of restraint is now safe and proportionate, with children no longer being held in their bedrooms or being guided up the stairs. Senior managers have spoken individually to staff in their supervisions, in a team meeting and to children about their expectations of the appropriate use of restraint. Records evidence that, following any restraints, clear and transparent debriefs are undertaken with children and staff by a person who is not involved in the incident. The manager provides a thorough evaluation of all restraint incidents, and uses lessons learned to guide staff practice.

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improvement to be good

The manager has implemented a restorative and transparent approach to children’s consequences. She challenges staff if the consequence used is ineffective, and provides an explanation of why it is not suitable. She directs staff to more appropriate alternatives to promote children’s positive behaviour. The manager has identified that the staff team requires further support to embed its understanding of positive behaviour management.

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improvement to be good

There is a system in place for the management of allegations, with managers notifying the appropriate professionals without delay. Effective safety plans have been agreed with social workers and the local authority designated officers. Staff work consistently with children’s safety plans, to ensure that everyone involved is kept safe. When there have been any safeguarding concerns relating to staff’s Inspection report for children’s home: SC470224 6 practice, suitable and prompt action has been taken by senior managers to address this.

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good

Since the last inspection, the manager has implemented a number of changes to improve the operation of the home. Consequently, 10 of the 11 requirements that were previously raised have now been met.

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good

There continue to be several vacancies in the staff team, including two deputy manager positions, therapeutic parent and waking night vacancies. Some staff have retracted their notice following the manager’s introduction to the home and some new staff have been recruited to start in the next month. The rotas evidence that there are sufficient and safe numbers of consistent staff to support the current children in their day-to-day care. Additionally, the use of agency staff has reduced, with them solely being used for waking night shifts.

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good

The responsible individual’s oversight and supervision of the home has improved in the last few weeks. Children have spent quality time with him, and he has been more visible in the home to support the staff team. The manager meets with the responsible individual to review her practice. They are tackling the identified shortfalls and working together to embed improvement.

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good

This last month, most staff have been provided with practice-related supervision from the manager and responsible individual. This has provided staff with the opportunity to share any concerns about safeguarding practice. Supervision records evidence that staff understand the shortfalls in the home and the expectations of their practice to support improvement. Regular support and supervision of staff now require embedding into the operation of the home, to ensure that staff have continued guidance and the manager can sustain a clear oversight of her staff team.

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good

Team meetings are being used to address shortfalls and promote consistency of care for children. The manager recognises that there is work to be completed in relation to staff personal development plans, annual appraisals, and professional development. All staff require training in child sexual exploitation to improve their understanding in this area of risk for children.

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good

The manager’s recent monitoring of the home has prioritised children’s safety, managing immediate risks, and reviewing the quality of the staff team’s practice. She recognises that broader monitoring and regular oversight of all records and systems need to be implemented in the coming weeks to be able to obtain and sustain good-quality care for children.

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good

The provider has complied with the restriction of accommodation notice, as no children have been admitted to the home since the last inspection. The restriction of accommodation notice remains in place. Inspection report for children’s home: SC470224 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 30 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—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that all staff have been provided with child sexual exploitation training. 30 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 16 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC470224 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a child’s bedroom is only searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. Additionally, records of room searches must be recorded and clear about the action taken to keep the child safe. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff have the skills and confidence to communicate easily and understand the importance of listening to, involving and responding to, the children they care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.10)

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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: SC470224 9

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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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Inspectors

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC470224 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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