Children's Home run by South West Childcare Services in Plymouth

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.

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because:

Leadership and management in the home is inadequate:  The manager is not in day-to-day control of the home. Her absence from the site means that she is unable to monitor and review the quality of care delivered to young people or have oversight of the running of the home.  The small staff team work in isolation. The manager is not on site to offer support and guidance. Her other responsibilities within the organisation impact on her physical availability to staff. Staff supervision is not regular or meaningful.  The manager has failed to ensure that key documents are kept up-to-date. This results in staff not knowing the risks for young people or the detail of significant incidents. This impacts negatively on the care young people receive.

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because:

Young people do not receive the quality of care that they should be afforded:  Not all young people’s health needs are addressed in a timely and appropriate way. Despite significant concerns for one young person staff failed to seek medical advice and support.  Young people do not receive the nurturing care they require to develop life and personal care skills. One young person had an agreement that staff only entered their room once a week. As a result, the known risks to the young person were not managed or monitored and their room was neglected and dirty.  Breakages in the home are not rectified swiftly. The manager was not aware of some items in the home that needed attention. This means that the home presents as neglected in places and prevents it from being a warm and welcoming place to live.

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The children's home strengths

Young people are making progress at the home. Incidents of self-injurious behaviours have reduced significantly for one young person. Young people are motivated to attend education and hold positive aspirations about their futures. Staff advocate well for them and ensure that they receive the education they are entitled to. Young people report feeling safe at the home. They were able to vocalise their likes and dislikes very clearly during the inspection. Positive responses to these views from staff were appreciated by young people.

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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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard the registered person must-

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Requirement Due date

(6)(c)(1)(2) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. In particular, ensure that damage and breakages in the home are addressed in a timely way and that the decor both inside and outside the home is to a good standard and makes the home feel welcoming and comfortable for children. 31/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the health and well-being standard the registered person must-

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Requirement Due date

(10)(1)(a)(b)(c) ensure that the health and well-being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. In particular, there should be no delay in accessing health care for children and support to manage personal care should be a priority. 31/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must-

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Requirement Due date

(12)(2)(b) ensure that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. In particular, risk reduction strategies should be in place and reduce the risk of harm to children. 31/08/2015 35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that 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 the information listed in this regulation. (Regulation 35 (3) (a) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) (b) (i) (ii) (c)) 31/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must-

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Requirement Due date

(13)(1)(a)(b) enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children's home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered manager should be in day-to-day control of the home to ensure this regulation is met. 31/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must-

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Requirement Due date

(13)(2)(a) 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; (13)(2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; (13)(2)(f) understands 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; (13)(2)(g)(i)(ii) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and (13)(2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any 31/08/2015 revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (c) (a) (b))

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Requirement Due date

Maintain records ("case records") for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1) (a) (b) (c)) 31/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure

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Requirement Due date

(12)(1) that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (12)(2)(a)(b) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff 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; help each child to understand how to keep safe; ensure that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. 31/08/2015

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Information about this children's home

This home is registered to care for one young person with emotional and behavioural issues.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Requires improvement

Young people live in a town house on the outskirts of a city. Some areas of the home present as neglected. Breakages and damaged items are not fixed in a timely way. Some areas of the home are not warm and welcoming. There is a small outside space at the rear of the property that has facilities to barbeque and sit outside and eat.

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Requires improvement

Young people are not receiving the level of care they currently require. Care planning arrangements in place for one young person mean that staff only enter her room once a week. As a result, the young person was sleeping in a broken bed and their room was not in an acceptable state. This approach to care reflects neglectful parenting.

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Requires improvement

Staff have not dealt with one young person’s health needs in a timely way. This has resulted in them not accessing medical advice and attention for almost two weeks despite the concerns of staff.

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Requires improvement

Support for young people with personal care needs require improvement. Staff were unaware that one young person was sleeping in a soiled bed. Previous support had been offered to the young person to address this issue. The support by staff was not successful, reviewed or reinforced effectively.

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Requires improvement

Young people are supported to build trusted and secure relationships with the small and consistent staff team working with them. This has resulted in young people reporting feeling listened to.

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Requires improvement

Where young people are not in education, staff advocate on their behalf to ensure that this is provided in a timely way. In the interim, young people are supported to undertake some level of education in the home. This has enabled them to remain motivated to learn and hold aspirations about their future, resulting in them making progress in their education.

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Requires improvement

Young people are supported to access varied recreational opportunities outside of the home. In some cases young people continue to attend youth groups across county borders. Staff understand the importance of this and young people appreciate the consistency and contact with friends from the communities where they previously lived.

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Requires improvement

Young people are making good progress with their emotional well-being. Incidents of self-harm for one young person have reduced since moving to the home. Not all staff have had appropriate training in this area of care but have the skills to offer empathy and understanding.

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Requires improvement

Not all of the risks for young people are fully understood by staff. Risks in respect of ‘e-safety’ are not adequately assessed or managed for one young person. Staff have not been provided with the training to reduce the risks for young people. As a result, young people are not kept as safe as they should be when they access the internet and social media sites.

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Requires improvement

The care planning for one young person does not offer a robust approach to risk management. Not all risks for young people are known and understood by the staff caring for them. As a result, risk reduction strategies are not embedded into practice as well as they should be, leaving young people exposed to harm.

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Requires improvement

Young people report they have good relationships with most staff and state that they can identify an adult to talk to if they are worried or concerned about anything. This results in relationships being built upon mutual trust and respect.

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Requires improvement

Young people do not go missing from home. One young person who has a history of absconding has not run away since living at this home, and this is a notable achievement. Should young people go missing there are currently no established links with key agencies to ensure that there are effective multi-agency responses to these behaviours.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s behaviours are not monitored well and incidents are not recorded accurately. Young people’s views, wishes and feelings are not always sought or recorded following an incident or subsequent sanction. As a result, key information is not used effectively to support care planning and future risk reduction. Judgement grade

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inadequate

The registered manager is not in day-to-day charge of the home. They are currently based off site and hold additional responsibility for another service. As a result, they are not able to undertake their duties effectively and the home fails to meet a number of Regulations. The registered manager is unable to demonstrate that they are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the service.

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inadequate

The registered manager is not involved in regular key discussions about young people or the home, such as handover meetings. Her lack of visibility in the home has resulted in some key information not being shared with staff effectively. This has impacted on the care of young people.

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inadequate

The care planning documentation for young people is not updated in a timely way by the registered manager. As a result, key information is missing and staff do not have clarity about how they should respond to young people’s needs and risks. There is some consistency of care due to the very small staff group. This is not underpinned by robust management.

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inadequate

The registered manager fails to actively and regularly monitor the quality of care provided to young people. There are no systems in place for her to robustly scrutinise the care provided to young people so as to identify improvements. There is a lack of management oversight in respect of key incidents. The recording of incidents and sanctions fail to act as a tool to improve the quality of care provided.

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inadequate

The registered manager has endorsed a care plan allowing one young person to only allow staff into their room once a week. In terms of this young person’s needs this approach to care is not safe. It has resulted in the young person causing harm to themselves and staff not being able to intervene to keep them safe. In addition, the young person is living in a neglected and dirty bedroom without the appropriate support from staff to avoid this situation.

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inadequate

The registered manager has failed to ensure that the statement of purpose is kept under review and updated in line with what the service provides. In its current format, this document is misleading.

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inadequate

The registered manager has failed to ensure that the staff group are given the training they require to undertake their roles effectively. Supervision does not always take place in line with company policy or reflect the guidance in the framework. As a result, the care provided to young people is not discussed and there is little evidence of reflective practice.

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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

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

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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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