Children's home run by Manuel Cornwall Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2662998 1 Registered provider: Manuel Cornwall Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 23 May 2023.

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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: 1 December 2022

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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: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2662998 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/05/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2662998 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s home looks and feels like a warm and welcoming family home. Maintenance is being undertaken and this is being carried out to a good standard. The child’s bedroom is decorated and arranged to their taste and has their valued possessions displayed. Measures to remove items that could be used by the child to self-harm have been put in place subtly, to avoid the risk of the home feeling clinical. No children have moved into or out of the home since the last inspection. The child living in the home has built positive relationships with the staff. During an incident seen by the inspector where the child was very distressed, they sought physical and verbal comfort from staff. Staff responded in a reassuring and loving way. The child has a high level of complex needs. Leaders and managers have coordinated effectively within a multi-agency team around the child to devise suitable plans to support the child. However, despite significant efforts, this has not

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

helped the child with their mental health difficulties. In recent months, there has been an escalation in their behaviours, including aggression towards staff. Managers have now decided that they do not have the skills and resources to manage the risks effectively and keep the child safe. The child has made positive progress in their education. They have returned to classroom learning for two hours a week and have been awarded commendations for their progress in mathematics. Staff supported the child to join a community therapeutic support programme. They have completed this successfully and continued to attend even at times of crisis. They wish to enrol again with the new cohort. Staff provide significant opportunities for the child to engage in a range of activities that they enjoy. These include rock climbing, cycling, fancy dress and days out to activity parks. Staff have made a beautiful memory book for the child to keep, which

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

details the things they have done and the people they have shared their time with while living in the home.

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

Children’s plans are clear and detailed. They provide good strategies for staff on how to respond to the child in the most effective way. There is evidence of the plans being updated regularly and discussions with staff demonstrate that they understand them and find them invaluable. Restraint has been used since the last inspection. Staff use restraint proportionately to keep the child safe from harm or to prevent harm to others. Records are clear. There is good management oversight through debriefs with staff and the child to better understand behaviours and monitor well-being. Inspection report for children’s home: 2662998 4 Staff respond appropriately to episodes of the child going missing from the home. They search for the child and use the expertise of external agencies to help return them safely. Records of these incidents are good. Since the last inspection, there has been a significant number of incidents where the

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

child has self-harmed. This includes the use of ligatures. Records and discussions with staff show that they have acted swiftly and calmly to keep the child safe. All staff are trained in ligature removal. There has been consistent learning and skill- building in the staff team to help them manage this. Staff understand how to keep children safe. They use the expertise and knowledge of external professionals supporting the child to adapt their strategies and learn new techniques when managing behaviour. However, this has not reduced the frequency or severity of incidents.

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good

Leaders and managers have met all requirements set at the last inspection apart from the administration and storage of medication. There have been two incidents when errors have occurred. On one occasion, the child was able to obtain medication and take an overdose due to staff not following medication protocol. Managers are undertaking an internal investigation and retraining staff. Managers provide staff with good, regular supervision that is reflective and supports their well-being. Supervision is used to learn from incidents and improve practice. The team also has access to independent psychological support, both one-to-one and as a team. Staff told the inspector that they find this very useful and it helps them to better understand the child’s behaviours. Managers strongly challenge other agencies when plans for the child are not appropriate. This has led to alternative plans being put in place. External

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good

professionals spoken with said that the home plays an important and active role in multi-agency working and advocates well for the child. There is evidence of good management oversight of individual incidents. However, managers have not developed a comprehensive way of tracking the child’s progress and recognising trends that could help them progress. Leaders have a good understanding of the strengths and vulnerabilities within the home. Since the last inspection, there has been continued learning and mentoring from an experienced manager from another agency. However, managers have not made a realistic assessment of the team’s skills and expertise when considering whether it can holistically meet the child’s complex and high-risk needs. Managers have not taken decisive measures to end the placement when it was in the child’s best interests to do so. This has meant that, despite being kept safe, the child has

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good

not made the anticipated progress in their emotional well-being during their time at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2662998 5

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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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 28 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(c)) 28 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 28 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2662998 6 that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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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: 2662998 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Manuel Cornwall Ltd

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Inspector

Penelope Kutz, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2662998 8 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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