Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Southampton

Inadequate

There are serious failures that mean children and young people are not protected.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 Young people do not feel safe.  Young people have been physically assaulted by their peers.  Young people face intimidating behaviour and verbal abuse from peers on a regular basis.  Staff have not addressed bullying behaviour and have not provided support to those experiencing bullying.  Staff do not have a coherent understanding of bullying, and are not managing relationships between young people to prevent them from harming each other.

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The children's home provision is inadequate because:

 Risk assessments are not sufficiently robust and do not focus on protective factors and responses to behaviours including bullying behaviour.  Behaviour management techniques are not consistent or sufficiently embedded within the practice of the whole staff team. Staff have not followed the homes procedure for countering bullying.  The registered manager and staff have not considered and evaluated the impact of young people behaviours on existing residents when assessing new placements.  The home is not providing care in line with its statement of purpose.  The registered manager’s monitoring has not been effective in identifying weaknesses.

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The children's home strengths

 Young people are making progress in their education and skills development.  Staff encourage young people to take responsibility for themselves to increase their independence.  Young people have access to a variety of activities and staff support them to pursue their interests.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the children's views, wishes and feelings standard the registered person is required to ensure that all staff:

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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. (Regulation 7 (1) (c)) 01/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationships standard the registered person is required to ensure:

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on mutual respect and trust and an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children; understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11 (1) (a) (b) (c) (2) (xi) (xii) (xiii)) 01/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person is required to ensure that staff:

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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; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; 01/09/2015 are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (2) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (vii))

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person is required to ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

promote their welfare; have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (b) (2) (c) (d) (g) (ii) (h)) 01/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

To meet the policies for the protection of children regulation the registered person is required:

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Requirement Due date

to prepare and implement a policy which is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children's home from abuse or neglect; sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular describe the measures which may be necessary to protect children following an allegation of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34 (1) (a) (b) (2) (e)) 01/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

To meet the behaviour management policies and records regulation the registered person is required to 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

he effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 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) (vii) (c)) 01/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

To meet the statement of purpose regulation the registered 01/09/2015 person is required to:

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (5))

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Children's homes should work closely with the placing authority to understand the child's relationship history and the impact that the child's arrival may have on the group living in the home. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, Page 38, paragraph 8.3)  Children who wish to keep and take their own medication should be supported to, if they are able to do so safely. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, Page 35, paragraph 7.16)

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Information about this children's home

This home is run by a national private organisation and provides accommodation for an associated residential special school. The home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people aged 9 to 17 years who have emotional behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

18/03/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

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inadequate

Young people are not confident that staff will listen to and act on their concerns. Young people have raised concerns regarding the behaviour of their peers and have told staff and mangers that they feel bullied. However, young people do not feel staff have taken action to address the behaviour of other young people and as a result feel scared and unsafe. Similar concerns have been raised in residents meetings and in feedback forms completed by parents. Staff have not addressed bullying behaviour or supported those experiencing bullying.

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inadequate

Young people are making progress in their education and skill development. All young people are engaged in full-time education and have good attendance. School reports demonstrate that young people are working towards their targets in a variety of subject areas and one young person has just finished their GCSEs. Staff are now supporting this young person to attend work experience and college course in catering. By obtaining qualifications and experiences the home is helping young people to increase their future opportunities. Staff have effective links with educational professionals to ensure young people access the support they require to assist their educational progress and maximise their potential. Young people are developing their daily living and self-care skills, through cooking meals, cleaning and helping with laundry. This enables them to make a positive contribution to the home whilst learning valuable life skills for the future.

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inadequate

Staff encourage young people to take responsibility for themselves to increase their independence. Young people are supported to complete the ‘my life, my risks’ form to identify the risks posed to them within the wider community and how they can minimise them. This encourages young people to be responsible for their personal safety. Staff have enabled one young person to administer his medication independently with oversight from staff. The young person has asked to be able to take full responsibility and staff have assessed him as being able to do so. However, the delay in the registered manager agreeing to this did not promote the young person from furthering their independence when he was keen to do so.

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inadequate

Young people have access to a variety of activities and staff support them to pursue their interests. Young people currently attend climbing, swimming, the cinema and regular trips out. Staff have also provided a chest of drawers for a young person to refurbish after they expressed an interest in this area. Staff assist young people to maintain their relationships with friends outside of the home by arranging joint activities and trips out.

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inadequate

Young people benefit from having their health needs promoted to a good standard. They attend all their routine health checks and are able access to the organisations therapists to attend to their psychological needs. Staff are providing education to young people to develop their understanding of healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. Staff maintain close contact with parents and regularly update them on young people’s welfare. Staff are trained in the administration of medication; this has not included a specific epilepsy intervention, but there is an agreed plan to involve paramedics, should this be required.

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inadequate

Young people say they do not feel safe and staff have not taken action to support and protect them. Young people have been physically assaulted by their peers and, on two occasions, felt it necessary to call the police. They face verbal abuse and intimidating behaviour on a regular basis. Staff are not managing relationships between young people to prevent them from harm. Young people’s current plans and records do not demonstrate that staff understand that bullying is taking place, the seriousness of the behaviour or the impact it is having on young people. As a result, there has not been a strong, robust or effective response from staff to address bullying or to protect the victims of bullying. Therefore, young people remain at risk of harm.

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inadequate

Young people do not feel secure living at the home as they do not feel listened to. The registered manager advised that young people have raised their concerns regarding the behaviours of others. Records of residents meetings and key sessions evidence this. However, staff have not acted on this information. One key summary of a young person who is experiencing bullying evidenced he had brought this to the attention of staff. However, staff did not take action to address this. Some records of those who have experienced bullying place the blame for the behaviour on them. Records do not demonstrate that young people who are being bullied are receiving help and support to address their feelings and concerns... The registered manager and staff have not evaluated the impact of young people’s behaviours on existing residents when assessing new placements. Consequently, young people who have previously been victims of bullying have been placed with

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inadequate

young people who exhibit bullying behaviour without effective pre-planning. As a result, some young people face intimidating behaviour on a daily basis and there have been two incidents of young people being physically assaulted by a peer. Some young people have made progress in their behaviour and have learnt to express their feelings and frustrations without resorting to verbal and physical aggressions towards others. However, staff have not addressed the behaviour of other young people and as a result the environment can be volatile and young people are unsettled.

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inadequate

Staff are not accurately assessing the risks to young people or the arrangements in place to protect them. This is because young people’s personalised risk assessments do not contain all the relevant or correct information. This includes young people’s previous missing behaviour, propensity to talk to strangers, recent medical history or challenging behaviour. As a result, staff are not aware of the all risks posed to young people or of the strategies to minimise them. Risk assessments are not sufficiently robust and do not focus on protective factors and responses to behaviours, particularly in regards to bullying.

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inadequate

Some young people’s behaviour management plans do not refer to their history of verbally and physically assaulting their peers. As a result, staff are not informed of the risks posed by young people to each other or the strategies to successfully intervene to protect them. All staff have received training in the organisations behaviour management technique and there has not been a physical intervention recorded since the previous inspection. However, staff do not always respond with clear, consistent boundaries about what is safe and acceptable behaviour. As a result, bullying behaviours are not challenged and staff are not promoting and guiding young people’s knowledge of right from wrong. Consequently, young people continue to face threatening and abusive behaviour from their peers. Recordings of sanctions do not evidence that staff are always providing opportunities to debrief young people after a sanction has been imposed and the

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inadequate

effectiveness of sanctions have not always been evaluated. The sanctions used have, for some young people, been ineffective.

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inadequate

Staff have not followed the homes procedure for countering bullying. The procedures are clear on the definitions and types of bullying, how to identify the signs of bullying and what action should be taken to address bullying behaviour. However, conversations with staff, the registered manager and an examination of records demonstrate that staff and the manager did not use the definitions within the policy to identify if bullying had taken place. Staff do not follow the home’s procedures to counteract bullying. As a result, staff have not proactively protected young people from harm.

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inadequate

There has been one episode of missing from the home since the last inspection. Staff followed the homes procedures and all appropriate agencies were informed. The home’s safeguarding policy does not detail the measures staff should follow to protect young people following an allegation of abuse or neglect. This may result in staff not taking the appropriate action to safeguard young people when necessary.

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inadequate

The previous inspection made a requirement for the home to improve its location assessment. The manager has taken action to address this.

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Inadequate

The home is not conducted in line with its statement of purpose. This is because it is not taking action to’ protect’ young people, ‘keep them free from harm’ and staff have not acted upon the views of young people. Furthermore, the statement of purpose advises that ‘where incidents of bullying occur, these will be robustly yet sensitively handled by attending staff in accordance with local policies and procedures’. Records demonstrate that staff and the registered manager have not identified that bullying is taking place or acted to prevent it... Therefore, young people are not receiving the service the home has stated it will provide and as a result are at risk of harm.

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Inadequate

The registered manager has developed new links with the youth offending team and police to inform the home’s location review and to provide additional support to young people. Staff have established relationships with other professionals, including health, education and placing authorities to ensure young people’s development needs are coordinated and met. As a result, young people are making progress in their education and skill development. Where the manager has identified that a young person would benefit from living in the home for a further year after finishing school, the manager has successfully challenged the local authority to provide funding to achieve this. However, the registered manager has not evidenced that she has evaluated young people’s behaviour and their needs when making a judgement on the compatibility of young people prior to placement. Consequently, young people who have previously been victims of

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Inadequate

bullying have been placed with young people who exhibit bullying behaviour. This places young people at risk of harm.

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Inadequate

The registered manager carries out weekly audits of all aspects of the service. Through these audits, the manager monitors staffing, maintenance issues and young people’s behaviour. From this, the manager was able to identify an increase in a young person’s negative behaviours and the reasons why this may have occurred. However, the audits have not been effective in identifying all weaknesses such as young people bullying others or the staff’s ineffective response to address this.

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Inadequate

The home does not obtain structured feedback from young people or third parties. This means that those using the service or linked to the home are not actively involved in defining and measuring the quality of the service. The registered manager has obtained feedback from parents and this was largely positive. However, concerns regarding bullying were raised but there was no action to address this. Therefore, young people are not experiencing an improving service.

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Inadequate

The manager has addressed the requirement and one of the recommendations made at the previous inspection. However, the manager has failed to improve the recording of sanction as recommended at the previous inspection.

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Inadequate

All staff have undergone the necessary checks to ensure they are suitable to work with children. Staff feel supported by their manager and they receive regular supervision. This provides staff with an opportunity to reflect on their practice and the experience of young people. Staff training includes safeguarding, behaviour management and food hygiene. As stated above, staff do not have a coherent understanding of bullying.

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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.

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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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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

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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

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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 .

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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,

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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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

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