Children's home run by Tumblewood Project Limited in Wiltshire

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the previous full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has declined in effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers have failed to meet three requirements and two recommendations set at the previous full inspection. Notifications of serious incidents are not always submitted to Ofsted in a timely manner, and on at least one occasion, Ofsted have not been notified at all. Restrictions on young people are still not properly or individually assessed. Five young people who reside in two separate houses cannot access food cupboards and larders as they are always locked, with no clear reasons as to why. Two young people feel that care is not individualised and that ‘blanket rules’ exist across the home without justification. For example, young people said they thought it was unfair that there is an age limit of 15 to use mobile phones. Excessive health and safety signage still exists throughout the home and so detracts from the otherwise homely environment. One lounge carpet is stained and is due to be replaced. Other areas in the home

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

have been refurbished and decorated, resulting in more pleasant surroundings for young people. Staff fail to always effectively and safely manage the behaviour of young people. Since the previous inspection, two incidents have occurred where young people have locked themselves together in a bedroom. The most recent incident resulted in an unsafe situation where one young person bullied and abused another. Young people are not closely monitored by staff, despite care plans stating they are staffed on a one to one basis. One young person, who has complex care needs and requires one to one staffing to ensure her safety and that of others, was observed to be out of line of sight of staff. Records show that an investigation in to one safeguarding incident has not been initiated ten days after the event. Staff do not ensure that those with parental responsibility are spoken with prior to their young person being interviewed by the police as part of their investigations.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff fail to effectively manage the behaviour of young people and regularly call the police to assist with behaviour management. This is contrary to the home’s ethos of minimal police involvement and to prevent the criminalisation of young people. Four young people since the previous inspection have been arrested by the police at the request of staff due to concerns regarding affray, assault of staff and criminal damage. Staff do not always call senior managers or the identified on-call person for guidance during times of concern or emergency. The home’s policy on police involvement is not being adhered to; it needs to be updated as it is currently not effective. Managers do not ensure that there is a consistent and core staff team. Currently, an over reliance on agency staff does not secure the well-being of young people. Agency staff are deployed to care for young people with the most complex needs

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

in the home, with little guidance from senior staff in some situations. Agency staff do not receive the same benefit of training, team support and guidance offered to permanent staff. The home’s policy is for agency staff not to use physical intervention as they do not receive the relevant training. Despite this policy, agency staff have restrained young people on at least one occasion. Some young people are concerned that staff are not trained well enough in physical intervention. Young people have gone missing from the home on 22 occasions since the previous inspection. A significant proportion of these incidents relate to one young person who has a history of absconding and has recently been admitted to the home. Young people are not offered independent return to home interviews in line with statutory guidance and managers do not raise this with the local authority. Therefore, young people are not offered an opportunity to talk with an

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

independent person about any concerns that led them to abscond. However, when young people do go missing, staff follow young people to ensure their safety until they return home and call the police in line with the home’s missing procedures. Managers do not ensure that staff are supervised regularly and receive annual appraisals. Some supervision records are scant in nature or are not recorded at all. Evidence does not demonstrate that performance management issues identified are being addressed. Monthly reports are produced by the home’s independent visitor to help managers in monitoring progress in the home. The reports include actions with timescales and assist improvements within the home. These reports are not sent to Ofsted in line with Children’s Homes Regulations. Some young people make progress in the home and are able to articulate the progress they have made, such as being able to manage their anger. One young

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

person said ‘I have got better at not running away.’ Social workers report that communication has improved in terms of the frequency and content of progress reports. Young people and social workers highlight that some staff ‘go the extra mile’ for young people. The frequency of restraints has reduced since the last inspection, which infers that staff are focussing more on de-escalation techniques when managing young people’s behaviour. Where appropriate, young people are encouraged to read reports about them and make comments. Managers have begun a robust recruitment process, to address the number of staff vacancies in the home and the over reliance on agency staff. Four new staff are due to start employment in April. Young people and staff receive therapeutic input from a skilled therapy team who ensure they are up to date on latest research which is imparted to care staff. Regular meetings between therapists, care staff and education staff ensure that

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

young people receive therapeutically informed care that is monitored and reviewed to ensure progress is being made by young people.

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home operates as a therapeutic community for a maximum of 15 girls with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The community is run by a private organisation offering residential care alongside therapeutic intervention including counselling, play therapy and psychiatric support. Children and young people attend the on-site school.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/12/2016 CH - Full Requires improvement

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Recent inspection history

19/02/2015 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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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 In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard the registered person should: support children to express themselves as individuals who should be 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 which they are cared for (Regulation 6(3.21)) 09/05/2016

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Requirement Due date

*12: The protection of children standard

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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

that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe;

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(vi)) *08/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person should:

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Requirement Due date

have regard to the relevant aspects of statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care. In particular; young people to be offered independent return home interviews (Regulation 12(9.25)) 25/04/2016 12: The protection of children standard

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

with their local police force, procedures and guidance on police involvement with the home to reduce unnecessary police involvement in managing behaviour and criminalisation of behaviours (Regulation 12(9.40)) 09/05/2016

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child (Regulation 13(2)(c)(e)) 25/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any limitation placed on a child's privacy or access to any area of the home's premises— (ii) is necessary and proportionate;

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Requirement Due date

(iii) is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and (iv) allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe (Regulation 21 (c)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 09/05/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees-

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Requirement Due date

receive practice related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year (Regulation 33(4)(a)(c)) 09/05/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person 31/03/2016 working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4) (a- e))

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person's report to- the HMCI (Regulation 44(7)(a)) 31/03/2016

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to statutory requirement notice.

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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

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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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