Children's Home run by Halliwell Homes Limited in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2592943 1 Registered provider: Halliwell Homes Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This private home is registered to provide care for up to eight children. The home has an attached registered school.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is a new manager in post, who took up position in February 2023. Ofsted is currently processing her application for registration.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 19 October 2022

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2592943 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/07/2022 Full Inadequate 13/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2592943 3

p.2

improvement to be good

At the time of this inspection, five children were living at the home. Since the last inspection, seven children have moved out of the home, three children have transitioned to foster placements and four have moved to placements more suitable for their needs.

p.3

improvement to be good

Management meetings take place and detailed transition plans are made to support children moving into the home. However, assessments do not detail the decision- making process from these meetings and plans. Furthermore, planning does not consider the existing dynamics in the home and the needs of the children who already live there. This has led to children being placed at the home without their needs being fully assessed.

p.3

improvement to be good

Relationships between staff and children are generally positive. Children can identify members of staff who they like and enjoy spending time with. However, some children do not have positive relationships with some of the staff. Consequently, incidents occur, and children make allegations against the staff. This is because some staff have not helped each child to develop mutual trust and understanding.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff help and encourage children to express their views and opinions. Staff offer children key-work sessions or house meetings on a regular basis. This gives children a say on how they are cared for and how they can influence decisions about how the home is run. However, record-keeping does not consistently evidence that children are happy with the outcomes.

p.3

improvement to be good

The manager ensures that children’s health is promoted. Children have clear health plans and are registered with the relevant primary healthcare services. Staff have good access to the organisation’s therapeutic team, whose members attend staff meetings and offer staff consultations. Therapists support staff to reflect on their practice and learn from challenging incidents. Some children attend one-to-one therapy sessions and make good progress with their emotional well-being.

p.3

improvement to be good

Some children who have previously had poor school attendance or have not engaged in education are now doing well at school. Most of the children attend the organisation’s school that is on the same site as the home. Daily handovers between education and care staff help to make sure that children experience consistent support. This promotes continuity and has enabled children to make good progress in their learning. For example, one child proudly told the inspectors that prior to living in the home she could not read or write but is now able to read short stories and write her own letters. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592943 4 Children are offered a wide range of activities. These include playing football, fishing, swimming, walking and trips out to places of interest. These varied activities enable children to have some positive experiences and have fun.

p.3

improvement to be good

Some children live a considerable distance from their home area. The management and staff team work closely with their placing authorities and family members to ensure that important, safe bonds are maintained. This continuity ensures that when children can return to their home locality, they can do so with established links available to them.

p.4

improvement to be good

Risk assessments are not consistent because they contain different risk scores. This means that staff are working with documents that do not contain accurate information to keep children safe.

p.4

improvement to be good

Referrals of concern to the local authority are made in a timely manner. However, in some cases, there is no audit trail of action taken. For example, the manager has not detailed telephone consultations with the local authority designated officer and social workers. As a result, records do not accurately reflect the management oversight of some safeguarding concerns.

p.4

improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from the home. When children do go missing, staff follow their missing-from-home protocols and report them missing. Staff are proactive and try to locate the missing child. They also liaise with the police and complete detailed records of actions taken and appropriate individuals contacted. Children have access to an independent person to speak to on their return home. This helps staff to consider any information that may help to protect children from going missing again.

p.4

improvement to be good

Some children have required physical intervention to help them and others to remain safe. Effective monitoring of such incidents ensures that staff practice is effective and that children can express their views about their behaviour and the measures used by staff. This reflective approach to behaviour management is key to ensuring that physical intervention is only used as a last resort.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff deal with any bullying and unkind behaviour between children swiftly and effectively. They promote positive relationships and use consistent boundaries which provide children with a sense of safety and security. Staff do not use consequences but prefer to use incentives and positive relationships, so children learn to understand the importance of tolerance and kindness in relationships.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff ensure that the home environment is safe for children to live in. A range of health and safety checks are carried out to assess whether there are any hazards which could pose risks to children. children take part in regular fire drills to ensure that they know how to safely evacuate the home in case of an emergency.

p.4

improvement to be good

Children are protected by the organisation’s safer recruitment practice. Staff are Inspection report for children’s home: 2592943 5 vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote the safety of children by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

p.4

good

The home has been without a registered manager since February 2022.

p.5

good

The current manager has been managing the home since February 2023. The management arrangements at the home have not been sufficient to ensure that children receive well-coordinated care.

p.5

good

The staff are not receiving regular supervision. This is a missed opportunity to improve standards and develop the staff’s knowledge and experience in their role.

p.5

good

Staff speak positively of the manager and recognise the improvements that have been made. A staff member reported, ‘There has been a vast improvement in the home. There is better communication, the team are working together and are being consistent, which makes the home run more smoothly.’

p.5

good

Staff receive regular training to make sure that they have the skills and competencies necessary to meet the diverse needs of the children who they look after. There are systems in place to make sure that training is regularly updated or refreshed.

p.5

good

The manager has built positive working relationships with external professionals and children’s families. A social worker told the inspector, ‘Partnership working is good, I have no complaints about communication. Staff send me regular emails and always keep me informed with what is going on.’ This means that there is a coordinated approach to meeting children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592943 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

p.6

Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff building positive relationships with the children. 30 June 2023

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

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))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that risk assessments are consistent and clear. 30 June 2023

p.6

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.6

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)) 30 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2592943 7 This specifically relates to ensuring that impact risk assessments contain all the information highlighting why any admission to the home is a good match.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

is an organisation or a partnership. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that a registered manager is in post in the home. 30 June 2023

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.7

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all staff receive regular supervision. 30 June 2023

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

p.7

Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

p.7

Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that a clear audit trail of all safeguarding discussions is kept. 30 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2592943 8

p.7

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

p.8

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: 2592943 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Pearce House, 80 Cawdor Street, Eccles M30 0QF

p.9

Inspectors

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Sam Dulay-Kainth, Social Care Inspector Jas Nahar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2592943 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.9

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspectors

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

p.10