Children's Home run by Restorative Social Care Services Ltd in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: 2600259 1 Registered provider: Restorative Social Care Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and managed. It provides care for up to two children aged between seven and 17 years. The home aims to provide a high level of care, support and intervention for children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has stepped down, and the post is now vacant. An experienced interim manager is covering until a new manager is appointed.

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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

Date of last inspection: 10 January 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2600259 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/11/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2600259 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment of the home is clean and well equipped. It is furnished to a high standard, with many ‘home from home’ comforts. Children experience a well- planned and warm welcome when they come to live at this home. This helps them to settle quickly in their new surroundings and feel a sense of belonging. One child said, ‘This is my home now, and all the staff are my parents.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from consistency and stability of care from a small and permanent staff team. Children are listened to and consulted with on all aspects of their care, and they have a ‘go to’ person to share any worries or concerns they may have. As a result, children develop trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make noticeable progress in many areas of their lives. The restorative approach to care helps children feel emotionally safe. With specialist support on hand, children are also able to access therapeutic intervention when needed. Children benefit from this, and for one child, there have been periods of sustained stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A lot of emphasis is placed on children having access to the right learning environment that helps them fulfil their potential. The manager and staff have been instrumental in communicating with schools and colleges to enable a smooth transition when children move in and out of the home. This provides children with continuity and minimal disruption in their education and vocational studies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to participate in a range of activities and are supported in all aspects of their lives. Children enjoy spending time with staff and have been shopping and gone to museums, boxing classes and on holidays. This means that children have the opportunities that they should be afforded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff facilitate and support family time, which helps to maintain and repair relationships. Every effort is made to work alongside parents and relatives in giving children the same message that helps them make better choices. Staff have managed an unsettled period for one child that has resulted in a premature move. However, outreach support is being facilitated to support the well-being of this child during this transitional period.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professional feedback obtained during the inspection was overwhelmingly positive. The quality of the working relationships with other professionals is a strength of the staff and enables multi-agency decision-making and planning. Child-centred plans for children are realistic and promote security and stability in their lives. Inspection report for children’s home: 2600259 4

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

The manager and staff are very attentive and aware of the risks and vulnerabilities for each child. This is reflected in discussions with them, their daily recordings, risk assessments and behaviour passports. Importantly, children say that they feel safe and well cared for and can rely on staff to help them with any worries or concerns that they may have.

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

Staff are proactive in working with key professionals in ensuring children’s safety and well-being. If children go missing from care, they experience a well-coordinated response. Staff go looking for children and follow missing-from-care procedures. Staff, on occasion, have collected children in the early hours to ensure they are safely back at the home.

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

Physical intervention to manage behaviour is used as a last resort and has only been needed on one occasion since the last inspection. In the majority of circumstances, de-escalation techniques are successful in defusing situations and providing space for children to calm. This helps children to regulate their emotions better.

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

Using a restorative approach helps to manage negative behaviour. All staff are trained in a strength-based trauma-informed model of care. This helps staff to understand how adverse childhood experiences impact on children’s behaviour. This shared understanding assists staff in their day-to-day interactions with the children and provides an extra layer of protection.

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

The children receive a lot of input from the staff to help them develop their own sense of safety and regulate their emotions more effectively. A great deal of work is done on keeping safe, and children benefit from a team around the child approach.

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

Safe recruitment practices are in place to ensure that individuals are safe to work with children, although there has been no staff recruitment since the last inspection.

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good

The registered manager has recently resigned and stepped down to the role of assistant manager. An experienced interim manager is supporting the home alongside the responsible individual until a registered manager is in post. This ensures continuity in care and management oversight of the home.

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good

The interim manager and the assistant manager have a good understanding of the home, the staff and the children. All but one of the requirements made at the last inspection have been met. However, a shortfall remains in the use of language that can be seen as stigmatising and unfriendly. The manager has failed to pick this up through the quality assurance process. This could have a negative impact on children when they read their records. Inspection report for children’s home: 2600259 5 Most of the staff team are in the process of completing their National Vocational Qualification at level 4. Two individuals have exceeded the timescale for completion in accordance with the regulation. Since the last inspection, a more-effective system has been in place to monitor staff progress in this area. This will ensure completion in the required timescales.

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good

The manager and deputy are a visual presence in the home. There is no area in the home that children are not allowed to be in. Staff access children’s bedrooms in consultation with them and are sensitive to giving children personal space and privacy. Children’s issues or concerns are responded to and acted on appropriately when they are raised.

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good

There is a stable and committed staff team that is supported well through regular supervision and training. The interim and assistant manager are providing the right level of support and encouragement that, in turn, contributes to a healthy environment.

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good

Recording continues to be a work in progress, and work is underway to help staff demonstrate the good support they provide. Work undertaken with the children is sensitive to their individual needs. The voice of the child is clearly evident. Inspection report for children’s home: 2600259 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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)(c)(h)) 15 June 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2600259 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Restorative Social Care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Victoria street, Greetland, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX4 8DF

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Kershaw

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Inspector

Cath Sikakana, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2600259 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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