Children's home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2514770 1 Registered provider: Time-Out Childrens Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and run by a private company. It provides care for up to two 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 and has the required level 5 diploma in leadership and management. She is the manager of two homes run by the company.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were 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

Date of last inspection: 15 November 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: 2514770 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/11/2022 Full Good 22/03/2022 Full Outstanding 31/01/2020 Interim Not judged 08/10/2019 Interim Not judged Inspection report for children’s home: 2514770 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care is highly individualised. The children’s bedrooms are decorated to reflect their interests and passions. This helps reinforce their sense of identity and their developing personalities. Children enjoy stimulating and varied activities, including foreign travel. This broadens their horizons and promotes a feeling of being part of a family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusted relationships with staff and are particularly close to some long- serving staff. This is shown in the relaxed and comfortable way children and staff talk and interact with each other. There has been an increased number of staff changes since the last inspection. The registered manager mitigates the unsettling impact of this by introducing new staff to the children slowly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in all areas of their lives. A strength of the home is advocacy for children in education, and support for children to improve their learning. Reward schemes are used effectively to encourage children to engage well in school. This extends to effective collaboration with education to manage children’s behaviour. This helps to promote a consistent understanding of boundaries for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care is informed by a psychological perspective as staff follow the advice provided by clinicians. The children also benefit from direct support provided by these clinicians. This helps to address some of the underlying challenges children face and supports children to make positive changes in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children often contribute to decisions about their care. This includes participating in bigger decisions that affect their lives. Staff are skilled in obtaining the children’s wishes and feelings and then use this insight to encourage children to make progress. This is an effective motivator for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well furnished, comfortable and in a pleasant location. The quality of decor and the level of cleanliness mean that spending time in the home is enjoyable for the children. The registered manager drives improvements, and the construction of a dedicated cinema room is underway. This is an example of the registered manager’s aspirations for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, this is well-planned with a clear focus on the children’s well-being. The children’s guide is personalised to ensure that it matches each child’s cognitive and emotional level. This helps to reassure children during a time when they are experiencing a significant change.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do jobs around the home that are appropriate to their age and understanding. This helps promote a sense of belonging and ownership, as well as teaching valuable skills for increased independence in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: 2514770 4

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

When children go missing from the home, staff take effective action to find and return them safely. If it becomes clear that risks are increasing and it is unsafe for a child to remain living in the home, the manager takes decisive action. This shows that children’s overall safety is prioritised.

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

There is effective use made of the clinical team in managing behaviours. This collaborative working and informed practice has led to a reduction in the frequency and intensity of occasions when children cannot manage their emotions. The home focuses on equipping children in this regard, to help them move on from the home to live with a family.

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

Staff understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Plans to manage and mitigate any risks are well written and have appropriate management oversight. Although staff have frequent reminders about the content of the plans, they do not consistently implement them. This means that, on occasions, there are incidents between the children which may have been avoidable.

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

Staff are trained to store, dispense and administer medication. However, on one occasion, an error resulted in a child taking too much non-toxic medication. On a separate occasion, medication was not administered in line with a child’s prescription. Although there was no impact on children as a result, this does not promote the children’s health and well-being.

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

Physical holds are used as a last resort and only to keep children or others safe. The manager has good oversight of incidents but when this is delegated to others the quality of that oversight varies. When a child has sustained an injury during a hold, on at least one occasion the records were not properly stored. On another occasion, the physical intervention was not accurately evaluated. This does not promote learning from behavioural incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is proud of the progress the children have made. She has high expectations of staff and understands the impact that the quality of care has on children’s outcomes. The model of care is a therapeutic and nurturing one. Leaders and managers embed this through effective modelling to the wider team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are committed to promoting positive long-term outcomes for the children. They advocate for children to stay living in the home long enough to develop the emotional intelligence to be able to function better within a family home. They ensure that, when children move out, this is not rushed and happens at the child’s pace. This shows that the child’s needs are central to decisions that are taken. Inspection report for children’s home: 2514770 5 Staff are well supported through regular supervision and staff meetings. They said that they find the support helpful, and the quality of discussions about staff practice promotes consistency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are held in high regard. While professionals have commented on the high staff turnover, they have nothing but praise for leaders and managers. Professionals note the quality of the relationships between the long-established staff and the children, and how they have supported the children to flourish.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite managing two settings, the registered manager ensures that she spends a high proportion of her time in this home. This means she can retain effective oversight of staff practice and children’s development. She has put systems in place to meet the requirements made at the last inspection. However, up-to-date plans are still missing from some children’s records. This was rectified during the inspection. The registered manager is aware that she would benefit from an embedded monitoring system to check that the mandatory care documentation is obtained and stored properly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been multiple staffing changes since the last inspection, which presents a challenge in developing a staff team with the required level of knowledge and skills to support the children. The registered manager has taken steps to promote team cohesion and consistency, as well as retaining high standards. This has directly benefited the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2514770 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to taking effective steps to prevent incidents of bullying or violence between children. 30 November

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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;

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to ensuring that medicines are safely stored, and administered in line with medical instruction. 30 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2514770 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children have plans in place (including up-to-date mandatory statutory plans) that form the basis of their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1)  The registered person should ensure that complete records of any physical interventions are kept. These records should be accessible and enable the registered person and staff to review any measures of control to identify effective practices and respond promptly where any issues or concerns emerge. The review should be of sufficient quality that it provides the opportunity for amending practice to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: 2514770 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Time-Out Childrens Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Ripponden Mill, Mill Fold, Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire HX6 4DH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Dominic Macauley

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Inspector

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2514770 9 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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