Children's Home run by The Beeches UK limited in Peterborough

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:

 The Registered Manager and staff have not taken action within sufficient time in respect of the cleanliness of a young person’s bedroom; this has been rectified, however, at the time posed a potential health and safety risk to the young person. The reason staff give for this is the young person’s right to privacy.  Young people receive limited support and varied responses in respect of exploring their individual identities. This is because staff do not engage with the available wider network.  Staff do not consistently approach risk, which leads to some confusion amongst the staff team. Risk assessments need updating and expanding to explicitly cover new risks when they are identified.  The home’s policies require updating, in particular, the missing from care policy.  Staff training is not consistent across the staff team and some staff have not completed the core training. As a result, young people receive changeable

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because:

care.  Records in the home are of a variable quality and do not always reflect the young person’s voice and positive experience in the home.  The lack of onsite management presence has led to a deviation from the ethos and approach set out in the home’s Statement of Purpose.  The Registered Manager has not completed a review of the premises. This means that risks in the locality of the home are not specifically considered.  There is no workforce development plan.

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The children's home strengths

 The home is warm and welcoming and young people’s presence is clear throughout the home.  Young people make progress educationally and school attendance is at a high level.  In line with their care plans, young people enjoy good physical health and staff encourage them to undertake physical activity.  Young people engage with staff to develop some practical skills for independence.  Staff promote new experiences away from the home focused on promoting young people’s social development.  Young people enjoy friendships away from the home in line with their peers.  Staff and young people interact naturally and build positive relationships.  The home has a dedicated manager who has identified a number of shortfalls; she has begun to impact positively on the care that young people receive.  Strong working relationships exist between staff and placing authorities.  Young people and parents receive support in developing, facilitating and

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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

12. The Protection of Children Standard: In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure that (2)(a) staff (i) 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; (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe; (iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; (iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; (v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; (vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies; (d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health

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Requirement Due date

13. The Leadership and Management Standard: In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children's home that (1) (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to (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; (b) ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills 25/09/2015 to meet the needs of each child

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Requirement Due date

5: Engaging with the wider system standard: In order to meet the standard the registered person must ensure that staff: (d) engage with the wider system to seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children's home is to provide care and accommodation. 25/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

7: The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard In order to meet the standard the registered person should ensure 2 (a) (v) that staff help each child to understand how the child's privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited 25/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy setting out the steps taken, and to be taken, to prevent children from being absent without permission. Before implementing, or making an amendment which the registered person considers to be substantive to, the missing child policy, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person and have regard to any relevant local authority or police protocols on missing children. The registered person must keep under review and, as necessary, revise the home's child protection policies. (Regulation 34 (4) (a) (5) (a) (b) (6)) 25/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children's home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2)) 25/09/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): Implement a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs19 and 20). (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

Encourage children to see the home's records as 'living documents' supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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Recommendations

Familiarise staff with the home's policies on record keeping and support them to understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

Support children to express themselves as individuals and give them an appropriate degree of freedom and choice in relation to day to day arrangements for their care, depending on their individual needs and the setting in which they are cared for. This is in relation to both activities and personal items such as clothing. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 17, paragraph 3.21)

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Information about this children's home

The home is operated by a private company. It is registered to accommodate up to three young people aged from 10 to 18 years with learning difficulties, and emotional and behavioural difficulties. Education is available in the linked school provision.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

24/02/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Requires Improvement

The care young people receive is of a variable quality and there are some areas where greater progress is made than others. This is largely dependent on staff training, experience, and differing approaches to care.

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Requires Improvement

Young people do not have access to psychological support and key work is sporadic and unfocused. Despite identifying the need, advocacy and representation by staff and the manager in respect of this critical area have been limited. In the absence of formal intervention, young people require staff to promote their emotional wellbeing through focused support.

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Requires Improvement

The presence of a new manager in the home has meant that relationships between the young people and staff are improving. Interaction is relaxed and natural and staff are directly responsive to young people. There is an increased sense of emotional security and confidence from young people in communicating their wishes and feelings. This is not reflected consistently in records. Staff have not routinely shared records with young people or engaged them in contributing to their records. The new manager addresses this in supervision and staff training and recent records begin to encompass young people’s views.

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Requires Improvement

Staff have not embraced and promoted young people’s identities, this has led to young people feeling that their individuality has been stifled. In the extreme, this has restricted young people spending their clothing allowance on their personal choice of clothing. In turn, the young people have not been able to safely explore their sense of self with appropriate adult support.

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Requires Improvement

Young people make progress in education. They successfully complete topical modules, which can lead to attainment of formal qualifications. One young person who previously did not attend school has attendance of higher than 90% and will be moving onto college provision. A parent said: ‘I am very grateful for the care they give my child, I am extremely proud about his progress.’

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Requires Improvement

Staff promote healthy lifestyles for the young people. They encourage young people to participate in physical activity and healthy eating. One young person is competent at planning for and cooking meals, the other young person receives support in planning, shopping and cooking. A slow cooker has been purchased and staff are sharing recipes with the young person and support him to prepare a meal before he leaves the home for free time or education. A social worker said: ‘The young person is very well supported given his special needs and complexities; formal and informal education is very good and works well for the young person.’

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Requires Improvement

The home presents as a warm and welcoming environment. Young people are encouraged to personalise their rooms and there are photographs of the young people around the home.

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Requires Improvement

One young person requires regular medical intervention at a local and specialist hospital. The manager and staff attend appointments and share information from appointments with family members and professionals. This ensures that key people continue to be informed and can contribute to forward planning if they wish to. One young person receives support for speech and language difficulties. She makes consistent progress in her capacity to verbally articulate.

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Requires Improvement

Young people access community activities away from the home without staff supervision. These enable them to develop friendships and enjoy experiences with their peers. The manager risk assesses the activities and has appropriate arrangements in place with, for example, the youth club leader. Staff engage young people in a wide range of activities to enhance their social skills and development. Young people choose activities and appreciate individual and joint leisure interests. One young person shared her experience of a recent holiday to the seaside.

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Requires Improvement

Staff who are familiar with the young people, support them to safely manage contact with family members. Contact is facilitated in line with young people’s care plans and needs.

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Requires Improvement

Changes in staffing have led to an inconsistent approach to risk identification and management; this can lead to confusion for young people. Risk assessments require updating, as they are not an accurate record of current risk. Not all staff have the appropriate training in risk assessment and strategies and the home’s policies require updating.

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Requires Improvement

Despite the issues identified in respect of policies and risk assessments, young people identify that they feel safe in this home. They look to staff and the manager to keep them safe. Staff adequately safeguard young people from immediate risk of harm however, they do not support young people to identify or understand risk. This compromises young people’s longer-term safety and does not prepare them for this element of independent living. The home has not had a review of the premises. This means that the manager has not completed an assessment and evaluation of the risks in the home’s locality. An awareness of risk areas should be available to inform staff who may be unfamiliar with the location and determine the suitability of the home for young people in line with their needs.

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Requires Improvement

Missing is not currently an issue in this home. Should this become an issue, the missing policy does not reflect a comprehensive approach for staff. It requires up to date professional contact details and greater clarity in respect of processes in line with requirements. In the interim, the new manager implements a satisfactory strategy to address these shortfalls and takes a necessary lead in this area.

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Requires Improvement

Since the last inspection, the use of physical intervention has been minimal; records covering these are clear, record young people’s views and have appropriate management oversight.

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Requires Improvement

The Registered Manager has been in post since June 2013; she has the appropriate experience and qualifications and is registered to manage this home and the sister provision. The management oversight in this home has been diluted by a lack of constant management presence. Managers identified this issue and since the last inspection, a new manager has been recruited for this home. She has been in post for sixteen weeks and has made an application for registration.

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Requires Improvement

The home is not currently providing services as outlined in the Statement of Purpose. Young people’s emotional needs are not being met. Staff do not operate from a strong theoretical base and have not been effectively managed, which has compromised their capacity to provide appropriate care.

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Requires Improvement

The new manager completes effective monitoring and has rapidly identified areas for improvement. She has taken quick and decisive action where required to directly improve young people’s experiences. She has a clear development vision for the home and the service that she wishes to provide. She bases this on her experience of the home's daily functioning that she gains through a presence in the home at varying times. The young people identify improvements in the home since the new manager joined. One young person said: ‘The manager is nice, she is kind and I like her a lot, it is much better with her here.’ The manager ensures young people contribute to change in the home; she engages them in discussions and supports them to engage in meetings with each other and staff. One meeting resolved a number of underlying issues between the young people, many of which were related to the impact of sharing their home.

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Requires Improvement

The young people had not revealed these views previously and had always been reluctant to take part in meetings. As a result of these meetings, young people have an increased respect for each other. One young person said: ‘The manager listens to us and I mean actually listens, she does what she says she is going to do and she understands, most of the time.’

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Requires Improvement

Since the new manager has joined, a young person’s bedroom has been cleaned and a long-standing repair of the en-suite bedroom has been completed. Prior to this, staff had allowed the cleanliness of the room to deteriorate to a level where it was a potential health and safety risk. Staff allowed the young person’s privacy to impede their need to balance care and safety. The new manager has implemented fifteen minutes a day where the young person must clean and tidy their room to an acceptable standard. Staff persist with this to ensure the young person does not place himself at risk again. The manager ensures that alongside routine cleaning, the staff assist the young person to understand why the condition of his room was concerning. She is also clear with staff that it was not okay for them to allow the cleanliness in the room to deteriorate to such a level.

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Requires Improvement

Not all staff have completed core training; this means that young people experience inconsistent care. The manager has developed a training program to commence in September. This encompasses a range of basic training, and existing staff will have to attend the training. The manager also identifies the need for specialist training to ensure she equips the staff team to meet young people’s needs.

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Requires Improvement

Records in the home do not clearly reflect the experience or views of young people. In their current form, they are not helpful in aiding young people’s understanding of their time in this home. The new manager acknowledges this and is supporting and educating staff to produce meaningful records for young people.

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Requires Improvement

Staff have not proactively engaged support to assist young people in exploring their identities. Consequently, some staff have been allowed to let their personal views impact on the support they provide. This is contrary to the home’s Statement of Purpose and unacceptable for young people. The new manager identifies this as a key area to improve and has already made progress in line with the concerns she has identified.

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Requires Improvement

All staff have had supervision from the new manager and a supervision matrix is in place to formalise the supervision and appraisals process. In the first supervisions with the new manager, she has encouraged reflection and supported staff to identify areas of improvement focused on young people’s experiences. This benefits young people as it again places them at the centre of the improvement process. One member of staff said: ‘The new manager has put a lot of things in place, she supports staff and she is making decisions. Some staff were doing what they wanted to do before because there was no manager here.’

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Requires Improvement

The home does not have a workforce development plan. At present there is a lack of clarity amongst staff about roles and responsibilities within the organisation. One member of staff did not know who the Responsible individual is or about the role. This does not support staff to understand lines of accountability or responsibility.

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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. 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.

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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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