Children's Home run by Next Stage 4Life Limited in Bury

Inspection report for children’s home: 1270297 1 Registered provider: Next Stage 4Life Limited 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 run, and it provides care for up to two children. The home provides care for children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children lived at the home.

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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: 1270297 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/05/2022 Full Good 11/05/2021 Full Good 05/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1270297 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress as a result of the care afforded to them by staff at the home. Since the last inspection, two children have left the home and two children have moved in. One child was supported to return home to their parents. Staff supported the child to move home and continued to visit the child after they had moved out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children understand the progress that they make as a result of support from staff. In relation to this, one child said, ‘Yes, I have made progress. I am doing better in school, I have made friends, I have joined a club and even play the guitar.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are treated with care and affection by the staff. Throughout the inspection, staff were observed supporting, joking and laughing with children. Consequently, children feel a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to stay in education. One child has been supported to access an education provision after not being in education for some time. In addition, staff actively spend time with children, accessing educational activities in the home. This inspires children to understand the value of education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are positive about being able to develop a sense of stability in their lives. One child told the inspector that they had moved many times before moving to this home. The child said, ‘I have been here longer than any other home; they stick by me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to remain in contact with family members. This has resulted in one child being able to have unsupervised family time with their older siblings. This helps to ensure that children maintain their family identity.

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

Children report feeling safe and that staff care about them. They say they have trusted adults that they are able to speak to should they have any worries or concerns.

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

When children display high risk-taking behaviours, staff respond proportionately. When children go missing from home, there is a prompt response from staff. Staff actively search for children and make contact with friends and family. This helps to reduce the amount of time that children are missing from the home.

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

Risks to children are well understood by managers and staff. Staff ensure that they regularly meet with representatives from placing authorities and specialist services to ensure that children are protected. One social worker said, ‘We meet on a regular Inspection report for children’s home: 1270297 4 basis and with the wider system to be kept informed, which enables us to manage the risk to the child.’

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

Staff use a restorative approach to consequences. As a result, children are able to understand their behaviours and the impact that they have on other people. This has led to one child investing in their local community by volunteering and raising money for charity.

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

Staff understand the risks posed to children. However, it is not always clear which training courses have been completed by staff who are booked through an agency, to be able to meet the specific needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced manager. The manager is dual registered and manages another home alongside this home. She divides her time equally between the two homes. The manager is supported by a newly appointed assistant manager and an experienced core staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has embedded an ethos in the home of positivity and support. This is well received by staff, who are positive about the manager. One staff member said, ‘I love working here; I feel fully supported by [name of manager]. She is a fair and consistent manager who listens to the views of the team and takes this into account when making decisions about the children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children in her care well and has a positive relationship with them. The manager ensures that she meets with the children weekly to consult with them on the plans for the coming week. This helps to ensure that children feel listened to and that staff understand the plans for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, good-quality supervision that allows them to reflect on their practice and the impact that their care has on children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that she evaluates all incidents that occur and provides staff with instructions on what to do next. However, for one incident that occurred in the community, there were missed learning opportunities for staff. The manager plans to explore this at the next team meeting.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are positive about the management of the home. One social worker said, ‘They have been fantastic to work with. I feel assured that my child’s interests are always at the heart of everything they do.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 1270297 5 Ot me

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s homes overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

that the care is delivered by a person who—

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Requirement Due date

has the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver that care. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (3)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that agency staff have had the training required to meet the needs of the children. 13 July 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person must ensure that evaluations of missing-from-home incidents identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)

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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: 1270297 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Next Stage 4Life Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Regency House, 45-53 Chorley New Road, Bolton BL1 4QR

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Inspector

Rob Neild, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1270297 7 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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