Children's Home run by Sure Steps Support Services Limited in Halton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 1 Registered provider: Sure Steps Support Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has recently left his post. There is currently no manager in post.

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

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 3

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Inspection judgements

One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Inspection judgements

There are serious shortfalls in safeguarding practice, care planning, the management of risks to children’s safety, and the leadership and management of the home. These weaknesses are having a significant negative effect on children’s safety, welfare, experiences and progress.

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Inspection judgements

Due to poor care planning arrangements, children have moved into the home whose needs cannot be met by the staff team. This has resulted in children having to move on from the home in an unplanned way. This does not ensure that children have a positive experience living in this home and have had further disruption in their lives.

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Inspection judgements

Staff have struggled to implement routines and boundaries in the home. Incidents of challenging behaviour have escalated and there have been inconsistent responses to children’s behaviour. Staff who lack the knowledge, experience and skills to meet the children’s needs have been responsible for their care. Therefore, children are not receiving well-planned care that promotes their safety and well-being.

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Inspection judgements

Staff do not ensure that children’s health needs are met. Children do not have a health plan in place, which means that staff do not understand their specific health needs. When children have diagnosed health conditions, staff do not have access to specific training to help them have the understanding and skills to meet children’s individual health needs.

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Inspection judgements

Despite the significant safeguarding failings, education is promoted in the home. The manager and staff support children to engage in education, which enhances their educational opportunities.

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

Children are not adequately helped and protected because of the failings in safeguarding arrangements in the home. Safeguarding practice is inadequate and does not promote the safety and welfare of the children. Leaders, managers and staff do not have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in ensuring that children are safeguarded effectively.

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

On occasion, managers fail to report safeguarding concerns to the local authority designated officer or safeguarding lead when an incident occurs. This means that no action has been taken to ensure that the safety and welfare of the child are promoted.

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

Allegations of abuse are not managed in line with safeguarding procedures. When a child reported that he had been assaulted by a staff member, the manager and staff failed to recognise this as a significant incident. Neither the manager nor the Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 4 member of staff reported and recorded the incident in line with safeguarding and organisational procedures.

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

Risk management plans do not contain all relevant information for staff to follow. In addition, they are not updated or reviewed when incidents occur. There is a delay in risk management plans being put in place when children move into the home. This means that staff lack the knowledge and skills to help children to stay safe from the moment they move into the home.

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

Controlled medication is not always given in line with a child’s prescription. Errors in medication are not identified by managers or leaders because of a lack of effective oversight and monitoring in the home.

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

Staff do not always take a strong and proactive approach in managing children’s behaviour safely. There are occasions when staff have not taken swift action to prevent an escalation of incidents. Consequently, children are not supported to understand and safely manage their own behaviour.

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

Children are not always supported by a sufficient number of staff in the home. In addition, some staff are inexperienced and do not hold a relevant qualification as required by regulation. This means that children are not being cared for by a team of staff who have the skills to best meet their needs.

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

Restrictive physical intervention for children is not always carried out safely or in line with regulation. Furthermore, records lack sufficient detail about the reason for the measure, the holds used and the appropriateness of the actions taken. Although staff record incidents of physical intervention on children’s records, children and staff are not spoken to about the measure used. This means that children’s views about the physical intervention have not been considered, and the staff have not had the opportunity to learn from incidents to prevent them from reoccurring.

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

Safer recruitment is not followed. Leaders and managers have recruited staff when they have been dismissed from previous employment due to safeguarding concerns. This known information has not been considered or risk assessed. This does not ensure that staff are suitably vetted before working with the children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There was no manager in post at the time of this inspection. The management arrangements that have been put in place in the absence of a manager have not ensured that there is effective leadership and management of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management team is not leading and managing the home in a manner that is consistent with the aims outlined in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Recording in children’s plans and documents is poor. Risk management plans and behaviour management plans for children fail to provide the staff team with sufficient and appropriate strategies to manage children’s behaviour or minimise Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 5 risk. When plans do contain effective strategies, staff fail to follow them. Records are not signed or dated, which means that the author is unknown and decision-making is unclear.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Significant shortfalls in the management oversight of incidents and poor staff practice leave children inadequately cared for. Staff have not responded effectively to safeguarding incidents, which leaves children at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not consistently share concerns or report all safeguarding incidents to other professionals in line with child protection procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers move children into the home without identifying and assessing their care needs. Managers have not considered whether the staff team has the skills and experience to support each child’s care needs. Consequently, this has negatively affected children’s progress and experiences, including disruptions to their placements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not consistently evaluate the appropriateness or effectiveness of all restrictive physical intervention measures used and have not acted when it has become evident that required documentation was not being completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive consistent supervision or support. New staff working in the home do not receive an induction and do not feel supported. As a result, many staff have left. On occasions, there have been insufficient numbers of staff working in the home, which has resulted in children not receiving the agreed level of support and care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

As a result of the serious and widespread shortfalls identified, Ofsted has issued a notice to restrict the accommodation of any further children at the home, to allow the provider time to address the concerns. A compliance notice has also been issued under regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Ofsted will monitor the progress being made to improve the quality of care provided at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 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

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

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must ensure that children’s health needs are known and understood by the staff caring for them. 20 February 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

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

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(e)) 20 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 7 In particular, ensure that children have up-to-date and relevant risk assessments which are shared with all staff.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(h)) 20 February 2023

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. 20 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 8 (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child.

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Requirement Due date

Paragraph (2) does not apply to medicine which—

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Requirement Due date

is stored by the child for whom it is provided in such a way that other persons are prevented from using it; and

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Requirement Due date

may be safely self-administered by that child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3)(a)(b)) 20 February 2023

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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

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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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. 20 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 9 (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation.

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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. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)(b) (4)(a)(b)) 20 February 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

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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; 20 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 10 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

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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.

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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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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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 signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 20 February 2023

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 20 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 11 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)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that notifications are submitted following a serious incident. 20 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

*This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2692580 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sure Steps Support Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Steam Mill Business Centre, Steam Mill Street, Chester, Cheshire CH3 5AN

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Inspectors

Jessica Higginson, Social Care Inspector Julie Elder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2692580 13 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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