Children's home run by Oracle Care Limited in Central Bedfordshire

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager left the home in December 2015. Since that time a new manager has taken over. He is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The quality of the service provided to young people has deteriorated since the home’s last inspection. The manager has failed to address either of the previous requirements made. Most significant is a serious shortfall in relation to fire safety. The manager has not taken action to address concerns raised in an independent ‘fire safety assessment’ completed in December 2015. This places staff, young people and visitors at risk. This risk is elevated as a young person continues to smoke in his bedroom.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been several incidents where a young person has gone missing from the home. The response to these incidents is inconsistent. Staff do not always take effective action. For example, on one occasion they did not collect the young person for several hours, despite knowing his location. In addition, a young person has left the home without staff being immediately aware. The response to this has been ineffective. Staff have not adequately assessed the risk of harm the young person may be in or made arrangements to reduce this risk. Furthermore, young people who go missing do not routinely have access to an independent return interview. As such, the manager has failed to implement the home’s missing child policy. Consequently, young people do not have access to the support they are entitled and their reasons for leaving are not adequately explored.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has failed to ensure that staff have adequate training and skills to work with young people who may go missing. This has affected their practice and their ability to meet the needs of young people. Furthermore, the manager has recently had to use staff from other homes to cover shortfalls. This is due to the amount of leave taken by the core staff team since the last inspection. This has resulted in a lack of continuity, which disrupts young people’s attachments with their main carers. Senior managers are aware of this issue and have taken action to prevent the likelihood of this shortfall reoccurring. Staff do not always meet young people’s health and well-being needs. Arrangements for the recording and administration of medication are poor. As a result, young people do not take medication in line with the prescriber’s instructions. Furthermore, staff do not adequately support them to seek medical

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

advice in this regard. This has the potential to affect young people’s physical health.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager is reviewing the home’s monitoring systems. Planned changes to the home’s ‘quality of care review’ are yet to take effect. Reviews continue to lack required detail. Specifically, they do not review or evaluate the feedback and opinions of young people, or identify any actions to improve the quality of care provided. This affects the speed with which the home can progress and does not capture the insights offered by the young people they support.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is considerable damage to the interior and exterior of the home. Fences and some interior walls are damaged and cigarette ends are visible in a number of areas. In addition, eggs have been broken against the kitchen window, and not cleaned off. This fails to create a homely, nurturing environment for young people to live in.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Partnership working with other agencies is mixed. Some social care professionals talk positively about their relationship with the staff and manager, describing the home as, ‘really supportive.’ Working relationships with other agencies, most notably the police, are poor. This hinders communication and limits their input to emergencies or incidents of concern. Consequently, young people do not get the chance to see police officers in a positive way. Their involvement is reactionary. This does not support the wider strategy outlined by senior managers in the organisation to avoid the criminalisation of young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Despite these shortfalls, young people make progress in some areas of their lives. Education attendance increases, bringing with it increasing attainment. In addition, young people develop better independence skills. A social worker comments positively about this explaining, ‘his independence skills are good. He can budget and do his own shopping…staff support him well with this.’ These achievements help to prepare young people for their adult life.

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Information about this children's home

The home offers care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional/behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a private provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained 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

In order to meet the health and well-being standard, with particular reference to seeking medical advice, the registered person must ensure that: -

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Requirement Due date

(1)(a) the health and well-being needs of children are met. 15/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to missing, the registered person must ensure that staff: -

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(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

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Requirement Due date

(vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare. 15/04/2016

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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, with particular reference to staff skills, the registered person must: -

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Requirement Due date

(2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. 15/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children's home. (Regulation 23(1)) 15/04/2016 The registered person must ensure that the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. This relates to the completion of works as recommended in the home's latest fire risk assessment. (Regulation 25(2)(b)) 15/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must implement the policy ("the missing child policy") setting out the procedures to be followed, and the roles and responsibilities of persons working at the home, in relation to a child who is, or has been, so absent. (Regulation 34(4)(b)) 15/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the feedback and opinions of children about the children's home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45(2)(b)(c)) 13/05/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure that (in order for the home to be a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children), the environment is homely. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 Demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children's attachments are not overly disrupted. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 51, paragraph 10.1)

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Recommendations

 Seek to develop the home's effective working relationships with relevant persons e.g. the police. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 52, paragraph 10.3)

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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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