Children's Home run by Halton Borough Council in Halton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC039559 1 SC039559 Registered provider: Halton Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide short breaks for up to four children who may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities and sensory impairment. It is managed by a local authority.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 17 children were receiving short breaks at the home. Three children have left the home, two of whom have moved to the local authority’s adult short-breaks service.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2023.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC039559 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2023 Full Good 16/11/2021 Full Good 25/02/2020 Full Good 23/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC039559 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and families are supported sensitively and with patience when children begin their stays. Planning is tailored to children’s individual needs. The process includes visits by the family and child, speaking with others who know the child well and ensuring that all children know what to expect from the home in a way that is useful for them. This includes visual guides and a specially made video. As a result of this careful planning, children are happy and comfortable to stay at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and professionals say that children enjoy their stays. One parent said, ‘[Name of child] shrieks with excitement as soon as he sees the home.’ Communication between the staff and families is good. An open event was held recently where families had the opportunity to speak to staff about their child’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a purpose-built bungalow. The residential areas are homely and have clearly defined areas for children. This helps to aid their understanding and allows them opportunities to make choices. These areas include a cinema room, a gym and a reading area. However, there are locks on communal doors which restrict children’s access to other areas of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy lots of different activities inside and outside the home. They are introduced to new celebrations, and staff encourage them to have fun and to try new things. The home is full of photos of children and their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with families and others to ensure that children’s health needs are met during their stays. Staff understand children’s emergency health plans. Medication is administered safely. However, when children are given their medication, staff do not consider their right to privacy. Similarly, children’s plans do not record how their privacy is impacted in other ways, including checks throughout the night.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop their independence skills at a level that is appropriate for them. This progress is captured in scrapbooks that are sent home with children and remind them of the time they have spent in the home.

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

Children are consulted with regularly and their views, wishes and feelings are considered and acted on. This means that children build trusting relationships with the staff. There have been no allegations or complaints made by children.

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

Incidents are rare and there have been no incidents of restraint since the previous inspection. However, when incidents have occurred, or consequences have been Inspection report for children’s home: SC039559 4 used, the manager has not evaluated the records. This means that managers have not addressed any issues, including whether children have been spoken to.

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

Children are supported by skilled staff who can de-escalate situations and use positive behaviour support strategies well. However, some of these strategies could pose a risk and have not been assessed as such. These include the use of custom- made beds and weighted blankets.

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

The physical environment is well maintained and safe. This includes any equipment that may be needed to help children with physical disabilities. There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. However, staff are aware of the process to follow should this be necessary.

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

Children have individual fire evacuation plans in place. Fire drills are introduced to children sensitively so that they know what to expect when the alarm sounds. This helps to keep children safe during their short breaks.

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

The manager uses safer recruitment processes to recruit staff. This ensures that only suitable staff are employed to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified and has worked at the home for many years. He is supported by a newly appointed deputy manager. They complement each other well and have high aspirations for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has worked hard to recruit staff. He has been creative with ways that he has done this, including open events and restructuring posts. These methods have been successful. As a result, the staff team is increasing with experienced staff joining the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel supported and receive regular supervision. Inductions for new staff are thorough and provide opportunities to shadow experienced staff. If the manager uses temporary staff, he ensures that they have the time needed to familiarise themselves with the home and the children they will be supporting.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The training and development of the staff are important to the manager. Many of the mandatory training courses are now face to face, including safeguarding disabled children training. Staff have refreshed lots of training since the last inspection. This means that they maintain their knowledge and skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are gaps in the manager’s oversight of children’s plans. This includes the manager not being aware of the information that is required and staff’s recording of information. For example, one child’s plan has conflicting guidelines for their support during the night. This does not ensure that children’s plans are individual and current. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039559 5 The manager actively seeks feedback from professionals and parents to make continuous improvements. An independent person visits monthly and the manager uses the feedback to support development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proud of the service that he and the staff provide and has built good links with the local community. He recently secured a defibrillator for the service, which he has made accessible for the whole community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been several senior management changes since the last inspection. However, Ofsted has not been informed about the change of the responsible individual. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039559 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;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to ensuring that any incidents involving a child are evaluated, including the use of consequences.

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Requirement Due date

This further relates to ensuring that staff record information in children’s records in line with their plans.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, this relates to ensuring that children’s records are current and individual to each child. 5 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; 5 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC039559 7 is necessary and proportionate;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to ensuring that locks on internal doors of communal areas are removed.

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Requirement Due date

This further relates to ensuring that children’s privacy is respected during the administration of medication and during the night and that any limitations on their privacy are clearly recorded and reviewed.

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Requirement Due date

An organisation may only carry on a home if—

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Requirement Due date

the organisation has notified HMCI of the name, address and position in the organisation of the responsible individual. (Regulation 26 (4)(ii)) 5 April 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. This includes assessing the risk of strategies used to promote children’s well-being, including custom-made beds and weighted blankets. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: SC039559 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3rd Floor Rutland House, Halton Lea, Runcorn WA7 2GW

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Inspector

Kerri Lynch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC039559 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 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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