Children's Home run by Crystal Care Solutions Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: 2509670 1 Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home is registered to provide care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were four children living in the home. They all spoke to the inspector about their experiences of living in 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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged as inadequate at the full inspection on 26 and 27 April 2023. Following the full inspection, three compliance notices were issued under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000. These related to regulation 12, the protection of children standard; regulation 13, the leadership and management standard; and regulation 14, the care planning standard. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509670 2 A monitoring visit was carried out on 15 June 2023 to monitor the provider’s progress towards meeting the steps in the compliance notices. A case review was held following this visit. It was determined at the case review that the compliance notices had been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509670 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/04/2023 Full Inadequate 09/06/2021 Full Good 11/12/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2509670 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are happy. They like living in the home and feel valued. Children are supported to develop trusting relationships with staff who care about them. Consequently, they make progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint. They are regularly consulted with and are positive about the care that they receive. One child said, ‘I love it here. I don’t want to leave. They help me in lots of ways.’ Another child said, ‘I’m very happy; it is great.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s transitions into and out of the home are well managed. Improvements made to the moving-in process mean that children’s needs are fully considered. Appropriate support is in place to help children move on from the home in a planned way. This ensures that children have a positive start and ending to their stay in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide care that supports children’s health and development. They sensitively advocate for children to access specialist and routine support as required. Older children are supported to make informed decisions about their health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to develop life skills. Older children are encouraged to take part in plans to become independent. Professionals are positive about the progress children make and the care provided by the team. One social worker said, ‘Staff are aspirational for children and go above and beyond to help.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in their education. They are supported to attend school and college and undertake part-time employment. One child, who previously had poor attendance, now attends school full time and is accessing a home tutor over the school holidays. Staff encourage children to aspire for their futures, and older children have plans to attend university.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s hobbies and interests are encouraged and nurtured. They are supported to access a range of activities, holidays and days out. They are also helped to attend local sports clubs and to pursue their interests. This helps children to gain confidence, develop their social skills and build friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming and is decorated and furnished to a good standard. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms, and their interests are reflected throughout the home. This enables children to develop a sense of belonging and pride in the home. Any repairs are completed in a timely manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff implement clear structures and boundaries. Staff encourage children to eat meals together and follow age-appropriate routines. However, not all routines are included in the children’s guide. Some rules, such as turning off the home’s internet Inspection report for children’s home: 2509670 5 during mealtimes, are not reflective of the needs of children currently living in the home.

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

Children say they feel safe. They can talk to staff about any worries or concerns. Staff complete direct-work sessions to help children make safer choices. These are recorded in detail and include children’s views. However, not all conversations are recorded in a sensitive way for children.

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

Since the last inspection, the manager has been proactive in ensuring that the team has a good understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and risks. All paperwork has been reviewed, and the manager has ensured that the organisation’s risk documents are individualised to reflect the needs of each child. Safeguarding scenarios have been introduced to further enhance the team’s knowledge.

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

Staff provide nurturing care to help children when they are distressed. They help children to manage their emotions with a wide range of individualised strategies. This helps children to feel safe and recognise their emotions.

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

Appropriate action is taken in response to allegations and complaints. Information is shared with relevant safeguarding agencies in a timely manner, and there is a multi- agency approach to keeping children safe.

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

There have not been any incidents of children going missing from this home. Staff know how to respond should an incident arise.

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

Consequences for negative behaviours are used infrequently. When they are used, they focus on reparation and provide opportunities for children to reflect and learn.

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

Changes to the internal alarm system mean that bedroom door alarms can now be switched on or off depending on children’s individual needs. They are turned off during the day but are in use at night. This is something that the manager is continuing to review. However, the rationale for their use is not reflected in children’s individual plans. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that they are only used when required to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and suitably qualified manager. She is committed to improving outcomes for children and provides clear leadership and guidance to the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is supported by the responsible individual and wider management team. Together, they have high expectations about the care provided to children. The management team has introduced enhanced monitoring systems to oversee and improve practice in the home. However, decisions around incidents that are deemed serious enough to be notified to Ofsted are not always consistent. This limits the Inspection report for children’s home: 2509670 6 regulator’s oversight of practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is high. Staff say they feel supported and valued by the manager. They are positive about the changes since the last inspection and are happy working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team has a can-do attitude to support children to achieve their potential. There is strong communication, both in the home and with other agencies. This means that all staff are kept informed and are able to work consistently with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team is stable. Any shortfalls are covered by known agency staff. This means that children are only cared for by staff who know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff, including non-permanent staff, have access to regular, purposeful supervision in line with the organisation’s expectations. Supervision records are detailed and clearly reflect discussions that provide staff with sufficient challenge alongside opportunities for reflection and learning. Staff also have access to effective team meetings and a range of training opportunities to meet children’s individual and group needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The recommendations made at the monitoring visit have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509670 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any routines implemented to promote positive behaviour in the home are kept under review to ensure that they remain relevant for the children living in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that direct work completed with children is recorded in a way that is sensitive to their individual needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.13)  The registered person should ensure that the use of bedroom door alarms as a safeguarding measure is subject to a rigorous assessment of each child’s needs, is reviewed regularly and is clearly reflected in children’s individual plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that their approach to judging whether an

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Recommendations

incident is sufficiently serious to make formal notifications is consistent. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide clearly reflects the day-to-day routines in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)

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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: 2509670 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Crystal Care Solutions, Bank House, Market Square, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 1ET

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Inspector

Caroline Bertram, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2509670 9 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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