Children's Home run by Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited in Stockport

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 1 Registered provider: Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for two children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in this home at the time of inspection. Inspectors were able to speak with both children and with one child who has recently moved out of the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2023.

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Inspection date: 15 January 2024

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 15 January 2024

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspectors evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 2

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Findings from the inspection

We identified the following serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection:

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Findings from the inspection

 Management oversight of practice in the home is not sufficient to keep children safe.  Children’s plans lack detail and do not include clear strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe.  Manager’s and staff do not take appropriate action to effectively safeguard children when they go missing from the home.  Staff do not support children to understand risks around exploitation.  Children do not receive care that is personalised to meet their individual needs.  Children’s health needs are not suitably met.

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Findings from the inspection

Two children have recently moved out of the home, and two children have recently moved in. The children currently living in the home are beginning to develop positive relationships with the staff. However, shortfalls in management oversight, poor decision-making and a lack of reflection by leaders and managers contributed to children who have recently moved out of the home not being kept safe from harm and their needs not being met.

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Findings from the inspection

Protocols for when children go missing from the home lack detail and are not personalised. On one occasion, advice given to staff by a manager led to a significant delay in other services being informed that a highly vulnerable child was missing. During this time, the child experienced significant harm.

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Findings from the inspection

Children know how to make a complaint, but complaints are not always dealt with appropriately. On one occasion, a child was told that the complaints form ‘won’t make a difference’, and on another, the manager dealt with a complaint that was about himself. When a complainant raises more than one issue at the same time, not all issues are addressed in the response. This does not enable children to feel listened to or heard and does not ensure that there is independent oversight of complaints.

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Findings from the inspection

Children who smoke cigarettes or vapes are allowed to do so with minimal challenge. Smoking paraphernalia has been frequently returned to children for them to continue using. There is no clear smoking policy in place for staff to follow. This does not enable consistent responses across the staff team and does not promote children’s health.

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Findings from the inspection

Direct work with children does not educate them about the most serious risks they face. Opportunities to support children to understand their vulnerabilities around Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 3 exploitation have been missed. When children have been seriously harmed, minimal action has been taken to ensure that they receive appropriate support.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff support children who are in education to attend. However, when children are not in education, they are not provided with suitable alternative education in the home. Children and staff are not provided with clear plans for home learning. This does not enable children to achieve their academic potential. This was a requirement at the last inspection and has been restated.

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Findings from the inspection

The home is generally well maintained. However, notice boards and signage around the home give it an institutional feel, and some areas are messy and lack personalisation. This does not help children to develop a sense of belonging in the home. The routine use of bedroom door alarms does not take into consideration children’s individual needs or identified risks. This limits children’s privacy and unnecessarily restricts their movement around the home. This was a recommendation at the last inspection, and a requirement has now been made.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2023. This is his first registered manager’s post, and he is working towards the relevant qualification. The manager was proactive in working with other professionals to support children to move on from the home as their needs could not be safely met. However, management oversight of practice in the home is poor. The manager regularly works shifts in the home, which significantly impacts on his ability to dedicate time and focus to the management role.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers have failed to identify poor staff practice and shortfalls in recording. Internal and external monitoring systems are not effective and have not supported the manager to identify shortfalls. The review of the quality of care provided to children lacks evaluation or consideration of how the care provided is supporting children to make progress. This was a requirement at the last inspection and has been restated. When changes have occurred, the home’s statement of purpose has not been updated as required by regulation.

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Findings from the inspection

Independent oversight is provided each month by an external professional. However, the resulting reports have not been shared with the regulator as required by regulation. This reduces the regulator’s oversight of practice in the home.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff, including the manager, are provided with supervision. However, this is not consistent and does not provide them with an opportunity to reflect on their practice. Performance appraisals are not completed consistently across the team. Those that have been completed have not provided staff with sufficient feedback about their practice and have not explored areas for development. This does not enable staff to improve their practice. This was a requirement at the last inspection and has been restated. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 4 Despite some efforts by leaders and managers to respond to the requirements made at the last inspection, none of the requirements have been fully met and have been restated.

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Findings from the inspection

Following this inspection, a case review was held, and the decision was made to issue a compliance notice under Regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 5

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/06/2021 Full Good 04/11/2019 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 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 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met;

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and 3 March 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 7 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)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that leaders and managers must:  Ensure that the home is operated in a way consistent with the statement of purpose. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring that: - all care plans are individually devised in partnership with the child and relevant adults to ensure the specific and special needs of the child are fully addressed; - should a formal complaint be pursued, any person who is the subject of the complaint will have no responsibility for consideration of or response to that; - each child will have prompt access to doctors and other health professionals, including specialist services such as smoking cessation when and if they need these services.  Ensure that staff are sufficiently trained and skilled to meet the developing needs of the children they care for. This includes understanding how to respond when children are in immediate danger. In addition, ensure that staff have the skills to complete regular, in-depth

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Requirement Due date

work with children to help them understand serious risks that are relevant to their needs.  Ensure that there are clear strategies, protocols and guidelines for staff to follow to keep children safe and healthy. In addition, that these strategies, protocols and guidelines are followed consistently by all staff to provide clear continuity of care for each child.  Have a clear understanding of the care that is provided to children.  Evaluate how this care impacts on children and use this knowledge to further improve the care provided. In doing this, leaders and managers must take into account feedback from children, staff and professionals, as well as their own analysis of staff practice and nurturing care.  Ensure that staff practice in the home is underpinned by current research. Protocols and practice should be reviewed in light of new understanding and the changing needs of children. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 8

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Requirement Due date

 Take children’s views seriously and follow through on all feedback received from children. When children raise concerns about a particular member of staff, these concerns need to be considered by a person independent of the complaint.  Continuously monitor the care provided to children, as well as continuously reviewing systems and procedures in place to keep children safe.  Make use of this ongoing monitoring to improve the care provided and continue to develop the service they offer.

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that procedures in place to keep children safe are clear, effective and personalised for each child. Safeguarding procedures must be reviewed regularly to ensure they are meeting children’s needs. The registered person must ensure that staff talk to children regularly about their risks and how to keep themselves safe from these. 31 March 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 9 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

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children know that their complaints will be taken seriously. If children complain about the manager, then the complaint must be investigated by a person who has not been involved in the complaint. 31 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children are supported to make measurable progress towards achieving their education potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support through the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that clear plans are in place to support children when they are not in education. These should provide children and staff with an understanding of the academic areas that children need to be supported with.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 31 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— 31 March 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 10 the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children are supported to maintain their health and understand the dangers of smoking and be provided with smoking cessation support. Staff must be provided with clear guidance on how to respond when children bring smoking paraphernalia into the home.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 31 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if— 31 March 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 11 the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that door alarms are used only when required to keep children safe from known risks. Door alarms should not be used as a default approach.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (1)(4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff receive regular supervision that enables them to reflect on their practice. Staff performance must be appraised annually to enable staff to meet their development goals.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 31 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the independent person who completed the visit sends in their report to Ofsted within 28 days of the visit. 31 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months. 31 March 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 12 In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the quality of care review incorporates feedback from children, families and professionals. The quality of care review should be evaluative in nature and should identify learning from the past six months. This should then be carried forward to create an action plan with clear, measurable goals.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

*This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children live in a warm and welcoming environment with a homely feel. Objects and notices that give the house an institutional feel should be removed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 15, paragraph 3.9) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 13

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Social Care Services Group, 31 Shaw Road, Stockport SK4 4AG

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Inspectors

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Sarah Gilbert, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 14 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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