Children's home run by My Life - My Choice Ltd in Hyndburn

Inspection report for children’s home: SC489038 1 SC489038 Registered provider: My Life-My Choice Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and short breaks for children and young people with disabilities. Services are provided for children aged up to 17 years. They can be continued through the transition period of their lives from the ages of 18 to 25.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2015 and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC489038 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2022 Full Good 05/08/2019 Full Good 14/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 17/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC489038 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive a good level of care. They have detailed and child-friendly care plans. The children also have targets which are specific and measurable, such as learning to feed themselves. This ensures that all staff have up-to-date knowledge of the children’s complex needs, and children’s progress can be measured against their targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have complex health needs. Staff work closely with health professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met. Staff have good knowledge of children’s disabilities and support children to attend necessary health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care which promotes their identity. Children are given specific foods, and various religious festivals are celebrated in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress developing their skills, particularly in self-care and life skills. Where possible, children are supported with washing, dressing and feeding themselves. This promotes children’s self-esteem and enhances their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are involved in a range of activities and enjoy lots of day trips. The new sensory room is a great addition to the home and children benefit from the hydrotherapy pool. This allows children to enjoy different experiences and promotes their health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff communicate well with education providers. Staff ensure that children have access to education which meets their needs. One child who lives at the home is provided with education at the home as this is in his best interests.

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

Children have clear risk management plans which contain clear strategies for staff to follow. Children’s behaviour support plans are detailed and include de-escalation techniques for staff to use to help children manage their behaviours. This has reduced the need for staff to hold children to keep them safe. When incidents occur, children and staff can reflect on the incident through debriefs.

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

Children do not go missing from this home. However, there are clear procedures in place to prevent children from going missing.

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

The home is well equipped to meet the needs of children who live there or access the short-breaks service. When specialist equipment is needed, staff receive training to use this equipment safely in line with the children’s risk management plans. Inspection report for children’s home: SC489038 4 Arrangements for managing medication are safe and effective. When an incident occurred, and staff members did not follow the correct procedures, managers took swift action to prevent further incidents from occurring.

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

The physical environment for children is safe. Due to the nature of the service and the specialist equipment needed for the children, the home does not look like a family home. However, managers have decorated and personalised children’s bedrooms where appropriate.

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

Managers recruit new staff safely. Safer recruitment processes are followed to ensure that the people working with the children are safe to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced and knowledgeable manager in post. Managers and staff know the children well and are child centred in their practice. Staff say that the management team is supportive and approachable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are encouraged to develop and are promoted internally. There are incentives for good work, which has helped with staff retention. This means that children are looked after by consistent adults who they are familiar with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers make good use of internal and external monitoring. A new independent person has been appointed to improve external scrutiny of the home. Managers monitor safeguarding incidents and provide evaluative oversight to identify learning from incidents. Some of the language used in records is not child friendly and a recommendation has been made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work closely with external professionals and parents. One educational professional said, ‘Staff actively work hard to meet the children’s complex needs through partnership working, regular meetings and having an excellent understanding of the young person’s needs and wishes.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers make child-centred decisions about children coming to live at the home or accessing the service. The needs and risks of the children already living at the home or accessing the short-breaks service are considered before a decision is made. The admissions process is robust, and managers meet children and families in their homes prior to accessing the service to ensure that transitions for children are positive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC489038 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording, being mindful of the language used. Staff should record information about individual children in a non-stigmatising way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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: SC489038 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: My Life-My Choice Limited

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Andrea Brighouse

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Inspector

Rachael Crook, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC489038 7 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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