Children's Home run by Oracle Care Limited in Staffordshire

inspection

Ofsted issued a compliance notice on 9 September 2015. A monitoring visit took place on 9 November 2015 and the notice was met. However, insufficient progress was made in other areas. Ofsted imposed a restriction of accommodation on 16 November 2015. This was lifted at this inspection.

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home

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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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Fire safety in practice and risk assessment is weak.  The statement of purpose is not kept up to date.  The home’s electronic staff duty roster does not show the names of agency staff who work in the home.  There is no clear policy for the management of electronic cigarettes in the home for young people under the age of 18. Risk assessments do not address young people’s management of e-cigarette in their bedrooms.  There are institutional features to life in the home. The home lacks personalisation and staff impose unnecessary restrictions on young people’s choice, without a shared and clear rationale.  Young people, not yet in education, do not have good daily routines and are often up and about late. Educational solutions are planned for January, but young people are not getting ready for this.  The manager has not come to an agreement with the local police about how staff should manage their involvement, as previously recommended.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Leadership and management improvement is not fully embedded or supported by a manager who is registered with Ofsted.  There remains insufficient permanent staff to care for the registered numbers of three young people. The organisation have stated they do not plan to admit a third young person until staffing and stability are assured.

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The children's home strengths

 Stakeholders and staff see real changes; so do young people. Staff report an improvement in the last three months. Overall feedback from parents and social workers are positive.  Staff have helped young people feel accepted and respected. They have worked well with the organisation’s team of therapists to plan safe care for young people’s specific needs and sexualised behaviour.  The registered person and tenacious staff have successfully helped to reintroduce young people from hospital care to the home and change a negative, to a positive, view.  The new manager is making strides in the organisation and the home, and the registered person is committed to further improvements.

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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

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must-

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Requirement Due date

(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; (b) ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; (d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; (f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; (g) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— (i) research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met ( in relation to e-cigarette policy and practice); and (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous

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Requirement Due date

improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 28/02/2016

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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 revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. The registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16(3)(5)) 16/01/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order (the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a)) and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of 16/01/2016 employees), are complied with in respect of the home. This also relates to individual assessment of fire risks for young people, where these are known. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; ensure that the records are kept up to date; and retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. Specifically, maintain a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of the actual rosters worked. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)(b)(c), Schedule 4 (3)) 16/01/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 The registered person should agree with their local police force, procedures and guidance on police involvement with the home. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 47, paragraph 9.40)

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Recommendations

 Ensure the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. They will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 Ensure children are supported to express themselves as individuals and are given 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 access to foods, cutlery, activities and leisure items. Where a child’s preferences are unreasonable or cannot be met for safeguarding reasons, staff should discuss this with the child to help them understand why. Include this in the organisation’s risk management documentation. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 15, paragraph 3.21)  Ensure that where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff works closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-

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Recommendations

time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. This also relates to ensuring good morning and night time routines. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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Information about this children's home

This privately-operated children’s home provides care for up to three children who have emotional or behavioural difficulties. Young people may remain beyond the age of 18.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

27/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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people living in the home

The décor and grounds have been very much improved, particularly in one young person’s bedroom. The registered person has plans for more improvement and repairs are planned to the hole in the front door. However, there are institutional features and care practice, not in keeping with an ordinary home life for the two boys. Passers-by and drivers on the adjacent main road, can see straight into the staff office at night: it is marked out as an institution. Staff routinely remove cutlery and ‘special’ food, like crisps, to the staff office. A hospital type, wall- mounted, hand sanitiser is attached to young people’s bedroom corridor. The living room looks nice, but has very little, beyond a television, to interest young people or provide a focus for games, conversation and social learning. One placing authority also thought, ‘that it lacks a certain ‘homely’ feel for the young person as it is quite sparse.’

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people living in the home

There is a mixed picture about young people’s progress in education. One new resident is surprising everyone by his readiness and cooperation with full time education at the organisation’s school, having not attended in his home town. Another young person, now seventeen, has had poor attendance and no identified placement for a long time. The organisation recognises their responsibility and have made a commitment to ensure his attendance at their school in January 2016 for functional English and mathematics, to supplement a programme of activity- based learning. They are also pursuing a fresh assessment of his educational abilities. However, daily morning routines at the home are relaxed and do not help him to get into a good routine of getting up early, ready for school.

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people living in the home

There are now good arrangements to promote young people’s health. The new manager is very concerned to establish healthy eating. There has been good work to support mental, as well as physical health. The manager has liaised well with hospital and child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) staff throughout young people’s experience of mental health crisis and admission. There has been good work around gender identity, and risk reduction in how young people manage their sexuality. Young people have benefitted from a team approach and shared decision making that has included the local authority, health professionals and the organisation’s team of therapists. Young people look happier, healthier and well- kept; their sense of self respect and dignity is now evident. Staff convey a very positive and explicit message about valuing difference and diversity. The organisation’s clinical director said she is: ‘impressed by the commitment of the

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people living in the home

staff and manager to the young people, and by their non-judgemental approach to some complex behaviours and presentations.’ All young people are now making progress. New young people have quickly progressed with agreed care plans and are settling into the home and a new life in care. They have made some good, nurturing relationships amongst the staff team. Therapists and placing social workers are pleased that staff are able to ‘make sense’ of young people’s complex needs. The manager is keen to encourage young people to share their views and to consider costs for activities. Regular key working sessions and young people’s meetings are a formal route for this. They have asked for more puddings and posters in their bedrooms. Both young people are here in long term placements until they are 18. Work towards independence is a gradual plan, as staff focus more on primary care needs. Young people do cook and have recently begun to take better care of

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people living in the home

themselves and their surroundings. They are developing better social leisure activities, such as joining a local Petanque club and going to their Christmas party.

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people are helped and protected

The organisation’s arrangements for fire safety require improvement. The fire service have visited and found the home is not compliant. They asked for urgent action to make safe the kitchen door, improve the quality of the risk assessment, make safe storage in electrical meter cupboards, service the fire warning and emergency lighting systems. Young people’s risk assessments are much better, but still require more detail to demonstrate the steps to reduce risk.

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people are helped and protected

While police involvement has reduced since the summer, the young people are still at risk and can put others at risk too. The manager has not yet made a confident relationship with local police to agree parameters for their intervention at the home. They are required less for incident management, but have been used to reinforce strong messages to young people about home-made weapons.

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people are helped and protected

Staff response to young people smoking ‘e cigarettes’ is not based on coherent policy or research. The manager and staff do not apply the same rules to the use of these cigarettes as they would to a traditional cigarette. Young people charge their cigarettes in their bedrooms and have burnt paper. Staff have not told the manager, or reported this as an incident, consequently, the manager has been unable to take action at the time.

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people are helped and protected

Staff are alert to the relationship between the young people, their moods, and are careful that they understand each other. Staff take action and talk to young people about any dominant or hurtful behaviour. They feel they are gaining young people’s trust.

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people are helped and protected

Young people are highly vulnerable to others and by their own behaviour. Staff are alert to the danger of child sexual exploitation. There has been one incident of a young person going missing, for less than half an hour and not far. Staff followed the agreed protocol, called police, informed parents and placing authority, found him safe and brought him home. The registered person works closely with placing authorities about individual staffing levels, decreasing 2:1 staffing only when safe to do so. Independent trips out are supported by staff making regular physical checks. Some young people are being able to have more independence, carefully balanced with risks to them and the community. A local authority health professional commented positively: ‘I feel the home have been managing the risk with the young person well and clearly sharing information with professionals and seeking advice where necessary.’

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leaders and managers

Senior leaders and the new manager have done much to improve the quality of care at the home, since they identified that it was not good enough, and since Ofsted’s last inspection judged it inadequate. It still requires improvement to be good. The registered person recognises this and says the home: ‘is on a journey.’

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leaders and managers

Three regulatory shortfalls, for fire safety, leadership and management and the statement of purpose, have been identified again, for further action.

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leaders and managers

The statement of purpose continues to fail to make it clear that the organisation is moving away from previous model of care, towards a new theoretical approach, or that the majority of current permanent staff, including the manager, are not trained in the previous, or new approach. Information about staff training, and experience remains inaccurate. The registered person plans to roll out the changes, and training, in the New Year. Staff are, however, providing an improved quality of care to young people.

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leaders and managers

The manager is preparing for her first review of the quality of care at the end of December 2015. Electronic monitoring systems allow the manager and the registered person to quickly see when work has not been completed. Where the manager establishes issues with staff practice, she takes action, but has been unaware of some aspects, such as a fire incident and storage of food in the office. This suggests that not all staff are on board with good communication, or the new ethos of the home.

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leaders and managers

Staffing arrangements are improving. The registered person has recruited to a small staff team, sufficient to meet the needs of the current two residents, but not all have begun work yet. Consequently, agency staff, and a core of trained bank and staff from other homes, still support the direct work with young people. The current staff team is very new, the majority with less than five months at the home. There are insufficient permanent staff to meet the needs of the maximum number of young people for whom the home is registered. However, the registered person recognises the further improvement required at the home and has no plans to admit further.

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leaders and managers

The manager is not easily able to establish whether the home is delivering consistency through a permanent, skilled workforce, because she cannot easily see who has worked. The staff roster is an electronic record that does not name any agency staff.

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leaders and managers

Risk assessments need further work, so that fire safety and individual plans are thorough and successfully reduce risk.

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leaders and managers

The registered person has taken action to meet the majority of the previous 13 regulatory shortfalls and four good practice recommendations.

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leaders and managers

Staff now provide personalised care, based on young people’s needs and supported and guided by the therapy team. The manager has advocated well for young people to get updated local authority health assessments, and has successfully persuaded them to attend for all their routine health checks, including hearing. This is a major achievement for some and is an indication of the much improved quality of relationships between new staff and young people and the determination of the manager. This determination is also evident in the agreement for all to have a proper education from January.

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leaders and managers

Care planning is now good; a placing authority is very pleased about the arrangements for the reintroduction of a young person, deeply resistant to moving back to the home, now showing signs of real well-being. Staff recruitment is now robust. Children’s case records are up to date.

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leaders and managers

Behaviour management is much improved, staff talk to young people and encourage positive behaviour, rather than imposing restrictive sanctions. Staff now give a proper debrief to young people who have been restrained and if they run away, the manager makes sure that the local authority and police visit to talk to them about the incident.

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leaders and managers

The manager is pleased with the attitude, energy and commitment of the new staff team. They feel well supported, through supervision and accessible senior staff. The manager has worked to ensure that they are quickly skilled up to meet young people’s need. A range of face-to-face, on line, and ‘workshop’ training led by the therapy team, ensure that they have a grounded working knowledge about young people’s issues. A parent commented: ‘the staff were nice and friendly. They have bent over backwards.’

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leaders and managers

The new manager, who took up post in early September, has yet to successfully submit an application to register. She has experience as a registered manager elsewhere and holds an appropriate managerial qualification. A placing social worker described the manager positively: ‘helpful and genuinely interested in helping the young person with whom I am working to feel supported and happy.’

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leaders and managers

The manager has worked and challenged partners, to ensure young people have the support they need. The organisation is matching this with their own extended commitment to one young person. A placing social worker recognised the organisation: ‘have worked hard to get it back on track.’

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leaders and managers

It remains for the registered person to consolidate the working model, build and embed good care practice in a new staff team, ensure safety, and pursue continued improvement, particularly for young people approaching adulthood.

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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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