Children's home run by Next Stage 4Life Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2534179 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

The home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager. There is a manager in post who is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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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: 2534179 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/05/2021 Full Good 12/03/2020 Interim Not judged Inspection report for children's home: 2534179 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff put the well-being of children and their individual needs at the centre of their practice. There are clear and consistent rules and boundaries in place, and staff understand the importance of adhering to them. This helps children develop positive relationships and build skills to manage their own feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are new to the home are welcomed sensitively and with the best possible planning. When children are admitted in an emergency, staff do all they can before the move to address any anxieties that children may have about moving to a new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting and positive relationships with staff. One child said that if they have a problem, they can talk to staff, and they will always help. Children also understand how to make a complaint. When children raise concerns, their issues are addressed and responded to. This positive response ensures that they feel listened to and that their views are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. They have access to local health services when they need them. However, there was an outstanding action raised on an individual health assessment that had not been met. Appropriate action was taken during the inspection to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff support the children’s education. When the children face difficulties at school, the manager and staff work proactively with school staff to address any issues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff work with placing authorities and families to promote positive and meaningful family time in line with agreed plans. Children are also supported to spend time with friends. This means that children have age-appropriate social interactions and can build skills and strategies to form and maintain relationships and gain a sense of their own identity.

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

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are detailed, and staff understand the individual risks for each child. The manager and staff work collaboratively with external professionals to support the children’s needs.

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

When children raise a concern, they are supported appropriately, and all relevant professionals are informed. Support from external professionals, such as therapists, is sought when needed. The manager and staff work collaboratively with professionals to ensure that the children’s needs are met. Inspection report for children's home: 2534179 4 When children go missing from care, there are clear and comprehensive plans in place for staff to follow. The manager and staff work collaboratively with external professionals, such as the local police and missing-from-home team, to ensure well- coordinated responses when children do go missing from the home. However, return home interviews do not always take place in a timely manner.

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

When it has been necessary to physically hold a child, it has been reasonable and proportionate. Following a hold, children have been spoken to, ensuring their understanding of why the hold was necessary. The manager monitors and evaluates all records of restraint.

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

Imposed consequences are not evaluated for effectiveness. The manager should ensure that all incidents of control and discipline have regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and effective.

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

Direct work is completed with children to help them understand how to keep themselves safe. However, there is no subsequent work following incidents. This is a missed opportunity to educate the children on relevant risks.

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

Processes for administering children’s medication are not robust. Staff have administered medication without suitable measuring. This is not safe practice.

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good

There is a manager in post who has applied to register with Ofsted. The manager shows an ambitious vision with high expectations for what all children can achieve. The staff are positive about the manager and describe a supportive environment. Staff spoken to describe the manager as readily available to provide advice and guidance.

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good

Staffing is consistent. There is a core team of staff in place who are suitably trained in mandatory subjects. However, staff do not have training that is tailored to the specific individual needs of the children.

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good

The manager has failed to notify Ofsted of all significant events in the home. This affects the external monitoring of children’s safety and welfare.

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good

The manager has good oversight of children’s risks and plans. However, she has failed to review strategies contained in one child’s missing-from-home protocol. This meant that staff repeated previous strategies which were ineffective. Consequently, staff are missing opportunities to reduce the amount of time that children are missing from the home.

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good

Gaps in employment history of staff are not always explored. The provider needs to ensure that recruitment of staff is consistently robust and in line with regulation to ensure that all staff are safe to work with children. Inspection report for children's home: 2534179 5 The home’s manager has used effective reflection following the end of one child’s placement to ensure that practice is improved for children in the future.

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good

Team meetings are held monthly and are well attended by the team. They are used as an opportunity to learn from shared knowledge. However, they are a missed opportunity to review staff practice following significant events. Inspection report for children's home: 2534179 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, 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; and

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being.

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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. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that action raised in children’s individual health assessments are met in a timely manner. 4 January 2023

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must ensure the children are supported to engage in sessions which address relevant risks, specifically those risks which relate to incidents the children are involved in. 4 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2534179 7 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

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)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that occasions when children are missing from the home are reviewed and reflected on to ensure that strategies in place remain relevant and effective for individual children. 4 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that medication is dispensed safely and in line with recommended doses. 4 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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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

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; 4 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2534179 8 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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the use of consequences. The registered person must ensure that these are recorded and reviewed for effectiveness and that the child is spoken to about the consequence.

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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 an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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)(d)(e)) 4 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2534179 9

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in regulation 45 and produce a report. The generated report should be sent to Ofsted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraphs 15.2 and 15.3)

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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: 2534179 10

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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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Inspector:

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2534179 11 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:

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

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