Children's Home run by Residential Child Care Community (Town Hall) Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2675591 1 Registered provider: Residential Childcare Community (Town Hall) LTD 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 offers care for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and has the required qualification.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 23 January 2023

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2675591 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/01/2023 Full good Inspection report for children’s home: 2675591 3

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improvement to be good

There are three children currently living in the home. Since the last inspection, two children have moved out of the home in a planned way, in line with their individual care plans. A third child moved out of the home in an unplanned way, following a significant safeguarding incident. The manager did not offer the child an opportunity to say goodbye to the other children living in the home. This did not support the child to experience a positive ending.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to complain. However, children’s complaints are not consistently recorded or responded to. In some instances, children do not understand what has happened as a result of their complaint. One child said that staff ‘don’t take me seriously’.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete direct work with children to discuss information and give advice and help. The quality of this work is variable. In addition, the documentation of records of direct work is poor and does not capture children’s views.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the children to access education and develop their independence skills in line with their abilities. For example, one child had not been in school for three years before he moved into the home. Staff worked closely with education colleagues and successfully supported the child back into a school setting. One tutor said that staff routinely complete education work with one child outside his formal education hours. This is supporting the child to make progress.

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with local health services and attend routine appointments. Staff use incentives to encourage the children to have healthy lifestyles. Children enjoy various activities and trips. Staff support children to develop their own interests. This improves children’s self-awareness, confidence and social skills.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. This includes taking action to keep children safe during time with family. This enables children to maintain important relationships.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not fully understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. Staff do not consistently take action to keep children safe when risks are identified. This means that children have been left at risk of harm. Children’s plans do not always reflect accurate information or clarity for staff about steps to take to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2675591 4 Some staff lack professional curiosity. This means that children’s risks are not always understood. For example, one child disclosed that an adult had displayed inappropriate behaviour. This disclosure was not appropriately followed up or investigated. However, other allegations have been responded to well.

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improvement to be good

The manager has identified that children are not leaving the home quickly enough during routine fire drills. Staff have not taken action to resolve this, or to support children to understand the risks. This does not support children to know how to be safe in the event of a real fire in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff know how to respond when children go missing from the home. Staff are proactive at locating the children and encouraging their safe return to the home. Children are not always given the opportunity to speak to an independent person when they return home. This does not support children to share any concerns they have.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of physical restraint are rare. When physical restraint is used, it is low level and used as a last resort to keep children safe. The manager evaluates records and ensures that any measures that are used are necessary and proportionate.

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good

The manager’s oversight of the home is not always good enough. For example, her evaluation of significant incidents and review of children’s plans are poor. As a result, the manager does not always identify shortfalls in staff practice.

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good

When the manager has identified concerns about staff practice, appropriate action has been taken. For example, the manager has put into place additional training for staff to address shortfalls in their knowledge and skills.

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good

The management team builds working relationships with partner agencies, which promotes a team-around-the child approach. Feedback from professionals is positive. The manager has not sufficiently escalated her concerns when children’s needs are not being met by other agencies, for example when there is a delay in receiving children’s statutory plans or a significant delay in a child’s passport application being progressed.

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good

Recording systems are chaotic. This means that information about children’s identified needs is not easily available to staff. This does not support staff to understand children’s risks or provide staff with clarity about steps they should take to care for the children.

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good

Some language used in children’s records is blameful and derogatory. The manager has not yet taken steps to understand why this is or to support staff to better understand children’s behaviours and needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2675591 5 Staff said that they enjoy working at the home and that they feel supported by the management team. The manager ensures that there are sufficient staff working in the home to care for the children. Staff access a range of training that gives them the skills to meet the needs of the children.

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good

Staff have regular supervision and team meetings, which provide opportunities for them to professionally develop. Records of supervision evidence that staff reflect on children’s emerging needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2675591 6

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff can identify when children are at risk of harm, and that staff take action to keep children safe in accordance with their individual plans. 18 October 2023

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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— 18 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2675591 7 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff have the knowledge to meet the needs of the children, and that the staff team provides consistent care to the children.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s plans are adhered to by staff, and that staff manage children’s unplanned moves out of the home sensitively to support a positive ending. 18 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. 18 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2675591 8 (Regulation 25 (1)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff take action to address any delay in the children exiting the home during fire drills, to support children to understand the risks of fire.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff record all complaints by children, and support children to understand how their views have been responded to. 18 October 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information about children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact and opinion. (‘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: 2675591 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Residential Childcare Community (Town Hall) LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 843 Finchley Road, London NW11 8NA

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Inspector

Sally Griffiths, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2675591 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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