Children's Home run by Warrington Borough Council in Warrington

Inspection report for children’s home: SC442779 1 SC442779 Registered provider: Warrington Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by a local authority. It is registered to care for up to two children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Children were spoken to as part of the inspection.

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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 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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC442779 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/03/2022 23/10/2019 Full Full Outstanding Outstanding 04/12/2018 Full Outstanding 08/08/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC442779 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have positive relationships with the manager and staff. Children said they feel safe, are happy living at the home and there is nothing they would like to change. One child said, ‘It’s pretty good to live here; I’ve lived here a long time.’ Children have made progress in all aspects of their lives since living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A child has recently come to live at the home, which was a planned move. The staff have been proactive in supporting the child to develop strategies to manage their conflicting feelings, which has helped to strengthen relationships and keep the child safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children attend education. Staff take action to address any shortfalls with education as they arise to ensure there is no drift. Children are on target to meet their predicted grades. One child achieved good exam results last summer and has gone on to study at the local college, and they are making positive choices for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work in partnership with health professionals to ensure that children’s health needs are met and they have access to necessary health services. Recently, a nurse attended the home to speak to the children about sexual health and teenage pregnancy. Following this, a direct work session was conducted with the children on staying safe over the festive period. This makes children aware of up-to-date issues and potential dangers, which supports them to remain safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have collaborated with the local authority and families to support the children to have positive, meaningful family time. The manager and staff welcome the children’s families to the home, for example, a child’s family came and helped to decorate the home for Christmas. This supports the children to maintain their relationships and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to develop their independence in line with their age and needs. One child has moved on from the home in a positive and planned way, in accordance with their individual plans. Staff have remained in contact with the child through their local authority ‘lifelong links’ initiative. This means that the child continues to have support and guidance into adulthood from trusted adults who have been part of the child’s life for several years.

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

Staff demonstrate their role and responsibilities in keeping children safe. They are trained in and have a good knowledge of safeguarding procedures. Children’s individual risks are assessed and updated regularly. However, the action that staff need to take if an incident was to occur is not clear. Therefore, children may not receive a consistent response from staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC442779 4 The home is welcoming, clean and decorated to a high standard. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their own taste. Damage to a wall in one bedroom has been temporarily fixed, but if it is not fixed to a good standard, it could become unsafe for the child.

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

Children do not regularly go missing from home. When missing-from-home incidents have occurred, staff have followed the children’s plans. This means that children have returned home quickly. The additional support given to the children through key-work sessions and return home interviews has resulted in a significant reduction in the children being reported as missing to the police.

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

Staff have not had to physically intervene to keep children safe. The staff are trained in physical intervention and de-escalation. The children report they are safe, and the professionals working alongside the home share the same view.

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

Before children have moved in, the manager has assessed any known risks and has been confident that the staff team is able to meet the needs of the children. Due to this, children’s risks have decreased, and they are making progress from their starting points. This has been, in the main, due to the relationships that staff have built with the children.

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

Incidents are managed well; however, not all serious incidents have been notified to Ofsted, which leaves the regulator unable to have sufficient oversight and scrutiny. One professional who works with a child stated, ‘I’m very happy with the way incidents are managed, and the team are open to new ideas and ways of working. They are able to reflect and change their practice to meet the needs of the children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced manager in post who holds a relevant childcare qualification. The manager has high aspirations for the children in her care, and she takes appropriate action and advocates for the children when the need arises. This ensures that the children’s views, wishes and feelings are heard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team in place, and the manager does not use agency workers or sessional workers, which means the children are receiving consistent care from adults they know and trust. Staff meetings take place regularly, where they discuss the children and reflect on practice. The manager uses findings from research in her practice in team meetings which supports the development of the staff team in providing care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff’s mandatory training is up to date; however, staff would benefit from updating their non-mandatory training that has lapsed. This will enhance the staff’s knowledge of broader issues that affect children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff receive supervision in line with policy and procedure and use this time well to reflect on the children and their practice. Staff said that they feel Inspection report for children’s home: SC442779 5 well supported by the manager and that they have the opportunity to discuss their professional development. However, the manager has not conducted appraisals in line with regulation, which means that staff do not have their practice annually reviewed or have actions set for further development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regulation 44 and Regulation 45 reports are received in a timely manner and provide a good insight into the home and the areas for development. However, both reports would benefit from the inclusion of feedback from children, staff, professionals and parents. This would support the manager in planning and developing the service to meet the needs of the children in her care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children, professionals and parents talk fondly of the staff team. One parent said, ‘The staff keep me up to date; they are ace. The only thing I would change would be for them to open more homes like this for children.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC442779 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 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to having clear strategies in risk management plans in order to direct staff and reduce risk. 17 March 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to fixing the hole in the bedroom wall to a safe standard. 17 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC442779 7 The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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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)(b)) 17 March 2023

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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)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 17 March 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. In particular, to ensure staff update non-mandatory training. ('Guide to the children's home regulations including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. In particular, to seek consistent feedback from children, professionals, staff and

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Recommendations

parents in order to inform the development of the service. ('Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: SC442779 8 children's home regulations including the quality standards', page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: SC442779 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Warrington Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Children’s Services, New Town House, Buttermarket Street, Warrington WA1 2NH

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Inspectors

Julie Elder, Social Care Inspector Pamela Nuckley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC442779 10 regulates and inspects 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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