Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.2

because:

 Risk assessments are not currently being followed in all instances, or effectively reviewed and amended to address the changing needs of young people.

p.3

because:

 It is not evident if the staff team have been provided with sufficient skills to work with the complex young people currently in placement. On discussion staff were not confident in supporting some behaviours and records were not available to demonstrate training had taken place.

p.3

because:

 Due to a number of changes in management and staff in recent months, the priority of the staff has been to ensure young people are safe and secure and record keeping is not of a good quality. It was unclear due to poor record keeping in one instance if the home should have taken further action or advice following a potential safeguarding concern.

p.3

because:

 Young people who are not accessing education are not routinely being provided with appropriate alternatives. There are no clear plans in place on a daily basis to enable the home to systematically assess these arrangements. This makes it difficult to judge whether such arrangements are helping young people to progress and prepare for further study, training or employment.

p.3

because:

 Independence plans are not in operation for all young people and targets are not being set and monitored for effectiveness. Young people are not being equipped with the necessary skills in preparation for successful transitions into adult placements.

p.3

because:

 Young people’s case records do not contain necessary information to inform staff practice. Staff are therefore not clear on the aims of each young person’s placement.

p.3

The children's home strengths

 Work in partnership with other professionals and support agencies has contributed to the progress made by young people.

p.4

The children's home strengths

 Relationships between staff and young people are good. Staff work as a cohesive team to put together strategies to enable young people to progress.

p.4

The children's home strengths

 Young people’s views are central to how the home operates and their voices are heard and taken into account when decisions are made.

p.4

The children's home strengths

 Young people are safe in this home and previous difficult and risk taking behaviour has significantly reduced.

p.4

The children's home strengths

 Staff encourage and support contact with families. They work in partnership with agencies and professionals who support and inform the care provided in the home.

p.4

Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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 with the given timescales.

p.5

Requirement Due date

8: The education standard: ensure that staff help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment and provide opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (2)(a)(iv)(v)) 30/06/2015

p.5

Requirement Due date

36: Children's case records: maintain records for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule and in particular, a copy of any plan for the care of the child prepared by the child's placing authority, and of the placement plan and the result of any review of the placing authority's plan for the care of the child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)) 30/06/2015

p.5

Requirement Due date

32: Fitness of workers: ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in respect of the matters listed in schedule 2, in particular a full employment history, together with a satisfactory written explanation of any gaps in employment history. (Regulation 32 (3)(d)) 30/06/2015

p.5

Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records: ensure the volume kept to record any measures of control, restraint or discipline includes all details listed in regulation. In particular ensure that 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)(c)) 30/06/2015

p.5

Requirement Due date

16: Statement of purpose: revise the statement of purpose to ensure it is individual to the children’s home and covers the matters in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1) 30/06/2015

p.5

Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard: ensure that staff are familiar and act in accordance with the 30/06/2015 home's child protection policies. In particular records clearly if there are concerns and evidence action taken. Assess whether each child is at risk of harm and make arrangements to reduce the risk and in particular ensure staff are working to each child's individual risk assessments. (Regulation 12 (a)(i)(vii))

p.5

Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard: ensure that staff have the skills, experience and qualifications to meet the needs of each child in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(c)) 30/06/2015

p.6

Requirement Due date

37: Other records: maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4, in particular a record of the actual rosters worked. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)) 30/06/2015

p.6

Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard: ensure staff help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare them to live independently as an adult. In particular set targets and review formalised independence plans. (Regulation 6 (2)(vi)) 30/06/2015

p.6

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  ensure staff are familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording.  ensure the registered person maintains good employment practice. In particular complete and review risk assessments for staff following concerns around conduct.  ensure staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to help children understand key areas of health and well-being and have access to information from external therapists to enable them to support children's mental health.

p.6

Information about this children's home

This is a private children's home providing care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

p.7

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.7

Recent inspection history

10/02/2015 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

p.7

requires improvement

Young people have experienced some changes since the last inspection with the manager and members of the staff team leaving. The present management team have started to lessen the impact of these changes on young people by bringing together a staff group who provide structure and boundaries. The young people benefit from good supportive relationships from the members of staff. This enables young people to start addressing some of their emotional and behavioural issues. Young people are overwhelmingly positive about the relationships they have with all the staff.

p.8

requires improvement

Young people are able to get on with each other though at times there are the tensions of group living where disagreements amongst each other occur. Difficult interactions are managed well by the staff that are intuitive to each young person and able to intervene, supporting young people in finding resolutions. The staff team encourage young people to be tolerant of each other and recognise differences. Young people benefit from individual key working sessions to focus on areas such as relationships and current issues. Risk assessments currently identify key work sessions as a strategy to support young people when certain behaviours are presented; these sessions are not being routinely undertaken. This means young people do not have access to the appropriate support at these times.

p.8

requires improvement

Young people are beginning to make positive progress in many areas of their lives; their emotional well-being, confidence and self-esteem are developing well. Young people come to the home with backgrounds that are often characterised by high levels of risk taking behaviours, a lack of consistent boundaries, non-attendance at school and emotional and behaviour difficulties. Progress is sometimes slow and erratic for some young people given their starting points. There are mixed views on the progress they are making from placing social workers. One commented, ‘progress and outcomes for this young person have been limited mainly due to the location of the home and bad influences,’ another commented, ‘she [young person] has thrived and engages well with staff and they have really built on her social relationships.’ Young people’s involvement in behaviour that put them at significant risk of harm and at risk of becoming criminalised has reduced in recent weeks.

p.8

requires improvement

Young people are encouraged to engage in a range of therapeutic programmes and benefit from the emotional support of staff during these times. The joined-up partnership of the care staff and the organisation’s therapists enables information to be shared. However, care planning does not support the therapeutic input from external therapists and any recommendations and strategies to be implemented. This does not enable a holistic approach to be achieved, or ensure young people receive consistent messages from all the adults.

p.8

requires improvement

Staff will encourage young people to attend their individual education provisions. Attendance has been varied and staff struggle to motivate young people at times to engage in education. Not all the young people attend school or have access to a registered alternative provision. The management has challenged the placing authorities on behalf of young people. Staff do encourage and enable young people to complete job applications and apply for appropriate education placements. However, it is not evident if staff recognise the value of education or if young people’s potential, aspirations and preference for future learning are fully recognised. Young people are engaged is limited formalised activities in the school day to help them to develop and achieve skills for their future. The level of achievement and engagement of young people in education is therefore variable.

p.9

requires improvement

Young people are of an age where they manage the majority of their own health needs. A range of supportive professionals ensure they have access to the services they need, such as drug agencies, sexual health and looked after children nurse services. This has led to improvements in general health and personal care.

p.9

requires improvement

Young people are consulted about all aspects of the care provided. They are involved in menu planning and help with cooking. They have also personalised their bedrooms and other areas of the home. Residents meetings are imaginative and provide opportunities to explore young people’s wishes and enable them to have a say on how the home is run. There is appropriate challenge and reflection during this time.

p.9

requires improvement

Young people are provided with opportunities to develop practical life skills, which begin to prepare them for adult life. Some young people are old enough and emotionally ready to undertake the organisations formal independent living plan. The progress young people has made and the targets in this area are not documented within care planning. Staff are unable to monitor these for effectiveness and ensure young people are well prepared for their futures. Contributing to household tasks, budgeting and taking some responsibility for some decision-making assists young people in beginning their journey to independence and adulthood. As part of this young people make their own decisions about how to spend their spare time. Participation in leisure, sporting and cultural activities is clearly determined by young people themselves although there are a number of options regularly on offer.

p.9

requires improvement

Staff recognise the importance for young people to keep in touch with family, friends and significant people. Young people are supported in maintaining contact with their family and previous placements in accordance with their placement plan. Young people have some opportunities to explore and understand their backgrounds through therapy and key work. Judgement grade

p.9

requires improvement

The home provides an environment within which young people feel safe and where they are suitably protected from harm. Young people acknowledge the work staff do with them in order to keep them safe. The relationships young people are developing with the staff mean they feel able to talk to staff should they feel worried or upset.

p.10

requires improvement

Young people know the consequences of risk-taking behaviours and how this impacts on their safety and their presence in the community. Staff are persistent in supporting young people to keep safe and work collaboratively with external professionals including the youth offending team to encourage young people to reflect on the impact their behaviour has on others. Therapeutic work is entrenched into key work sessions to ensure support is provided to young people and they begin on the journey to acknowledge the impact of theirs and others behaviours. Instances of missing and drug misuse have decreased since the last inspection and staff are clear about their responses should this occur. Staff work with the organisations therapists around young people who are at risk of child sexual exploitation and who exhibit self-harming behaviours, and together they regularly re-assess suitability of placement.

p.10

requires improvement

Risks to welfare are identified in pre-placement documents including referral information. Initial presenting risks are understood by staff and have begun to reduce since admission to this home. However, the current risk assessments in operation are not known to staff and staffing levels identified as risk management strategies are not being implemented. In addition, key work sessions do not always take place following certain behaviours being displayed as highlighted as an action in risk assessments. It was not clear if review processes are sufficiently robust and reflect the changing needs of the young people.

p.10

requires improvement

Young people understand the rules of the home and the consequences of not abiding by them. Staff are good at promoting positive behaviour and relationships. Staff receive appropriate behaviour management training and have a good understanding of de-escalation techniques. Staff are restorative in their practice and only involve police as a last resort. Incidents of physical intervention are low. There is a bound log in place to record all measures of physical intervention; however, there is no detail recorded in the volume of the young people’s views following an intervention. This makes it difficult to fully monitor the effectiveness of the intervention.

p.10

requires improvement

Recruitment procedures are not robust. Recruitment processes do not evidence if satisfactory exploration of information has taken place prior to staff commencing work. This relates to employment history where gaps of employment were not fully documented on recruitment files, and may not have been explored prior to staff appointment. In addition, risk assessments have not been complied following staff disciplinary action concerning conduct. Review of practice is therefore not taking place to ensure there are no ongoing concerns.

p.10

requires improvement

Young people's complex safeguarding needs are well-addressed and there is a high level of joint working with other professionals. The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) reports effective interagency safeguarding practice. Thorough internal investigations take place following any safeguarding concerns with clear communication and feedback with social care agencies. In one record, it was not detailed if behaviours were of a safeguarding nature and if these concerns should therefore have been referred on. Due to lack of information it is not possible to ascertain if in this instance the safeguarding procedure was implemented in practice. In other cases, it was possible to evidence young people’s welfare is adequately protected and that allegations have been investigated in line with protocol. Judgement grade

p.11

requires improvement

The Registered Manager resigned from the position in January 2015. Since then there have been changes of managers resulting in inconsistency; the present acting manager has very recently been appointed to manage the home. She is in the process of submitting application to Ofsted for the Registered Manager of this home. She is currently undertaking an appropriate qualification and has the necessary experience to undertake this role.

p.12

requires improvement

The manager welcomes any external scrutiny and challenge and she is using this information to improve the care offered to young people. Some staff have left since the last inspection and the management have worked hard to re-build the staff team and are continuing to identify and redevelop practice and processes. The young people’s welfare is enhanced by the emerging relationships that exist between the staff and young people. A priority in recent months has been in ensuring young people are safe and their needs are being met.

p.12

requires improvement

The manager is beginning to understand the strengths of the service and is very aware of areas for development. There are development plans in operation to clarify the future of the home with a focus on improving the experiences for young people. She is in the process of updating this information to reflect the homes current position.

p.12

requires improvement

Young people’s files do not currently contain a copy of the plan for the care of the young person prepared by the child's placing authority or the placement plan. In addition, the result of recent reviews of the placing authority's plan for the care of the young person was not on the files. The absence of this information does not enable staff to have an indication of the outcomes to be achieved or offer a clear steer for key working opportunities. Due to this lack of information managers are unable to have a clear understanding of the progress young people are making in respect of the plans for them.

p.12

requires improvement

One of the strengths of the home is that staff persevere with young people to help them overcome the challenges they face. Young people are allowed to make mistakes and have more chances. This provides them with a sense of consistency and stability in their sometimes chaotic lives and speaks of the commitment of the service to them. Strong partnership working with health, the police and social services means that young people receive the support and services to which they are entitled. Managers and staff are confident in challenging services when responses are not effective. They are currently in the process of securing an independent advocate for one young person. Staff and managers are respected and liked by young people. Young people’s comments include: ‘It's good here because of the staff.’ Young people were clear although there have been changes in the staff team and managers it has not had an

p.12

requires improvement

impact on their progress or the quality of care received.

p.13

requires improvement

Staff report that they undertake regular essential training, and all new staff complete an initial induction programme. This practice contributes to them understanding and meeting the needs of young people. However, on discussion with staff they were unclear if they have undertaken specific training to meet the needs of young people currently in placement. This includes training in self-harm and sexualised behaviour. Staff were hesitant at times when discussing their responsibilities in supporting young people who exhibit these behaviours. Training records could not be located during the course of the inspection. Therapists spoken to were confident the majority of staff have undertaken this training but again could not locate records. There was evidence safeguarding training had been undertaken in a recent team meeting and team teach training had taken place very recently.

p.13

requires improvement

The home has regular internal and external monitoring processes, which ensure that managers are aware and committed to improvement. They have focused on issues and shortfalls highlighted at the previous inspection. Independent monitoring identifies areas for improvement and link to how this affects young people. Clear timescales for the provider to remedy the situation are made.

p.13

requires improvement

The home’s Statement of Purpose reflects the therapeutic aims and objectives of the organisation and not the individual children’s home. In addition, it does not contain all the necessary information required in regulations. This does not enable placing authorities and carers to be clear about what the home sets out to provide. The rosters within the home do not detail actual hours worked by staff. Therefore, it is difficult to establish who was working at certain times.

p.13

What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

p.14

What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

p.14

What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.14

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

p.15

Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.15

Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

p.16

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.16

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.16

Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

p.16