Children's Home run by Invigor Adolescent Care Limited in Manchester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 1 Registered provider: Invigor Adolescent Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for up to three children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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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: 18 October 2022

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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: 2605180 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/10/2022 Full Good 30/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 22/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently three children living in the home. Since the last inspection, two children have moved on from the home, and two children have moved into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, the manager ensures that the best possible planning takes place. Children are supported to visit the home to meet staff and other children. This provides children with a positive experience and helps to ease any anxieties they may have. One child said, ‘Staff were really nice to me when I came to visit.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend college or take part in education. Children are learning and making excellent progress. The manager and staff are ambitious and have high aspirations for children. Staff support children to attend and do well in their education. Staff regularly reward and praise children for their achievements. This helps to develop children’s confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For most children, their views, wishes and feelings are fully embedded within their support plans. Staff regularly review and update plans to ensure that they link up with local authority care plans. However, for one child, the manager has not ensured that there is an updated care plan in place. This means that staff are not always fully informed about what the children’s plans are, and internal care plans do not contain the most accurate information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see their families in line with their plans. Staff recognise that seeing family members can sometimes be difficult for children. They ensure that children receive individualised support. As a result of this, children’s relationships with their families are developing.

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

The manager and staff know children’s risks and understand them. Together, they identify and appropriately assess new risks. The manager ensures individualised risk management plans are up to date and are clear and directive.

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

Children can identify a trusted adult that they can talk to about any worries or concerns they may have. Children know how to make a complaint and can identify who to complain to if they were to ever have any concerns.

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

There have been occasions when children have been missing from home. The manager and staff team are proactive in their responses. The missing-from-care protocol is routinely followed. Assessments to manage risks are robust and regularly reviewed and updated. When a child has been missing, detailed incident reports Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 4 include the action that staff have taken to locate the child. However, return home interviews do not routinely take place.

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

Staff only hold children to keep them safe as a last resort. Staff use physical holds in line with the home’s policies and procedures. Records contain the relevant information, and staff carry out reflective debriefs with children. However, an independent person does not complete all the debriefs. The manager does not scrutinise all records of restraints. Also, the manager does not always speak to children following the use of restraint. This means it is not known if restraints are proportionate, necessary or safe.

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

Staff use consequences and reward systems to help children manage unwanted behaviour. The manager reviews all consequences and rewards. However, the use and effectiveness of the consequences are not always considered. This means that consequences are rarely subject to scrutiny from the manager.

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

There are window restrictors in use at the home. These are located on the upper floor and in the children’s bedrooms. Staff do not routinely check these as part of their health and safety checks. As a result of this, damaged restrictors go unnoticed.

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good

Since the last inspection, there has been a change in management. The new manager has been in post since August 2023 and has begun to develop a good level of management oversight in the home. He knows the children well, and he is ambitious, child focused and enthusiastic. One staff member spoken to said, ‘He is really supportive, and I am learning so much from him.’

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good

When one child moved on from the home, they moved into an unregulated setting. The provider supported the local authority by providing staff to care for the child. As a result of this, there were occasions when the staffing arrangements in the home were not consistent with the statement of purpose.

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good

Safer recruitment checks are not followed. Not all staff are suitably vetted before working in the home. Gaps in employment histories are not checked effectively by the manager. This is unsafe practice and does not ensure that only suitable people work with children.

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good

The manager does not ensure that staff receive regular supervision that supports their learning and development. Staff are not supported to reflect on significant incidents or their practice. This is a missed opportunity for staff to learn and improve their practice.

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good

One child moved into the home with a history of self-injurious behaviour. The manager has failed to recognise a training need for staff. He has not provided staff with additional training that will support their development and practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 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, 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 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must always ensure that the home’s staffing level is consistent with the identified staffing levels set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff have access to additional self-harm training that relates to the needs of the children.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all significant incidents are evaluated with scrutiny, taking into consideration any learning outcomes that can be implemented within children’s risk management plans or to support the development of staff. 27 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 6 receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s 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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when children move into the home, they have access to the most up-to-date local authority care plans.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when children move into the home, staff are provided with internal care plans that set out clear expectations of how children must be cared for in the home. These must also incorporate the actions set out in the most up-to-date local authority care plans.

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Requirement Due date

Within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that incidents of physical intervention are evaluated with scrutiny and that children are spoken to about the use of the measure, taking into consideration any learning outcomes that can be implemented within children’s risk management plans, or to support the development of staff. 27 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 7 In particular, the registered person must ensure that when a child is involved in a physical intervention, any debriefs carried out must be completed by a person who was not involved in the incident.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when consequences are used, they are subject to scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and that the effectiveness of the measure has also been considered.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when recruiting staff, all gaps in their employment histories are identified and fully explored. 27 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff receive regular supervision. 27 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when window restrictors are in use, they are regularly checked to ensure that they are secure and have not been tampered with. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that when children have been missing from home, they are provided with a return home interview. If this does not occur, then they should escalate this with the placing authority. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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: 2605180 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Invigor Adolescent Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Warren Bruce Court, Warren Bruce Road, Trafford Park, Manchester M17 1LB

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Inspector

Kimmy Feeley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 10 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 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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