Children's Home run by Waypoint Care Ltd in Doncaster

Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 1 Registered provider: Waypoint Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered in January 2024 and is owned and managed by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The home providers care for three children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties. One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in the home has made good progress considering her complex needs. The child can now be cared for by two members of staff in the home, this was previously five members of staff wearing body-worn cameras.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before the move to the home, there was a thorough assessment of the child’s needs. This assessment utilised the information available at the time and addressed all known behaviours. However, at the point the child moved in, the provider was unaware that alternative, secure care, was recommended by social care and health. This resulted in the severity of incidents being underestimated and staff in this home being unable to meet the needs of the child in the long term.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is not attending school. Staff have supported the child to enrol with an online school. However, the child’s emotional well-being needs have resulted in not being able to attend the online provision. The manager and staff liaised extensively with the virtual school and staff have supported the child to engage in some education work. She has been provided with reading and revision books, which she requested.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has been supported with their health needs, including emotional well-being. The manager and staff have advocated strongly on behalf of the child, to ensure they receive the health care they need. However, as these needs require specialist assessment and support, they have remained unmet despite the providers’ efforts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s self-care has improved due to clear and consistent boundaries within the home. The child’s sleep has increased from a few hours to almost a full night’s sleep. The child’s personal hygiene has improved due to increased awareness and support by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and the child’s bedroom is appropriately personalised. The child has a display of cosmetics she has been able to gain through positive incentives in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child knows how to complain. However, the manager has not ensured the child has received an appropriate response detailing any actions taken because of complaints.

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

The child has developed positive relationships with staff and these are important to the child. Professionals noted the positives of the child being able to form connections with the staff. Previously, the child has not been able to leave the home. While living here, the child has been able to safely spend time in the community. They have been able to engage in hobbies and having fun such as attending dance classes several times a week, Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 3 having walks in the woods and going shopping. This has included a trip to a large cosmetics brand’s headquarters as a birthday treat.

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

When the child goes missing, staff follow her plan, including following the child and searching for her in the community. They utilise the support of the police, when required, but they balance this carefully with the potential risks around criminalisation.

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

Allegations are responded to appropriately and the manager ensures all relevant professionals are included in decision making. Swift action is taken by leaders and managers to address safeguarding concerns.

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

Room searches have taken place in response to concerns about risk. These have been proportionate and carried out in a way that causes the least amount of distress to the child.

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

Staff have a good understanding of how the child’s life experiences can impact their behaviour. They understand the importance of building positive relationships and utilise these relationships when the child is in a crisis. Most of the time this is effective. However, staff do not always effectively de-escalate children as staff do not use the strategies outlined in children’s plans. On at least two occasions, the response from staff has prolonged incidents. One of these led to the police being called to support staff.

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

At times, physical intervention has been used to maintain the child and staff’s safety. When this has happened, it has been proportionate to the risks. After children are held, conversations take place with staff and the child, however these are not consistently focussed on learning from the incident and are not always in a timely manner. One incident where the child’s legs were held, was not recorded correctly as a physical intervention, therefore the appropriate process was not followed.

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

Risk assessments address the known risks for the child. They provide strategies for staff to manage risks and are updated after every incident. They are complemented by therapeutic support plans and managers have sought multi-agency input to ensure that risks are appropriately addressed.

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

Consequences have management oversight, but the oversight does not consider why restorative work has not taken place, it also does not evaluate whether the consequence has been effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Monitoring systems are in place but these are not always effective. The manager’s oversight lacks evaluation, this has led to several missed opportunities to address practice that is not aligned with the statement of purpose. This does not support the improvement of the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 4 The effectiveness of managers and leaders has been impacted as they have been working shifts, due to staffing constraints. This was to maintain continuity of care for the child but has led to lapses in managerial oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The statement of purpose has been updated, but this has not been shared with Ofsted. Notifications relating to safeguarding are not shared with the regulator in a timely way. They also lack appropriate detail for Ofsted to have a good understanding of the provider’s response to safeguarding concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Children’s plans are well-written, however, they are not informed by the child’s statutory documents as these have not been provided by the local authority. The manager has not chased up statutory documents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The team feel well supported and supervision and team meetings take place regularly. However, there is not sufficient space for reflection on practice and the impact of managing such difficult behaviour. This is particularly important due to the severity of incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Mandatory training is up to date. However, the deputy manager has carried out supervision without completing relevant training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers and staff have shown commitment and tenacity when caring for the child. Despite recognising that they do not have the skills to care for the child long-term, they have worked closely with the agencies involved to ensure the child’s next steps are as positive as possible. Staff have known resilience, continuing to care for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 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 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

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

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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that supervision and team meetings offer reflection on staff practice to improve practice. To also ensure that oversight of the home, includes addressing shortfalls in staff practice when this does not align to the statement of purpose and ensure children’s statutory documents are available within the home. 20 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 6 The registered person must ensure that—

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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

details of the child's behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result 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)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure all physical interventions with children are recorded in the correct format and that conversations with the adults and children involved take place within the correct timescales. To also ensure that consequences are restorative in nature and the manager evaluates the effectiveness of the consequence. 20 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 7 The registered person must—

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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)) 20 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter. (Regulation 40(4)(c)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)) 1 July 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person needs to ensure that staff understand factors that affect children’s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour using positive behaviour strategies in line with the child’s relevant plans. This should be therapeutic, in line with the statement of purpose and therapeutic support plans in place. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 8 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: 2767938 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Waypoint Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 38 Freemans Way, Harrogate HG3 1DH

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Inspector

Joanna Beal, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 10 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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