Children's home run by Marlowe Child & Family Services Limited in Tewkesbury

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection two young people have made successful transitions from the home. One to foster care and one to a semi independence placement. Currently there are three young people living at the home. Young people are supported by staff to maintain contact with their families. For some this has meant re-establishing contact which has been successful.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

School attendance of young people is good. All attend the organisation own education provider. For some young people good school attendance is a major improvement, prior to admission they were non-school attenders. Young people benefit from taking part in a wide range of activities which they enjoy. At the time of this inspection young people were on school holidays. There were a number of activities planned which included camping in the garden during the day, young people clearly appreciated this.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the last inspection four requirements and two recommendations were made: Three requirements and one recommendation have been met. The staff team have reviewed and updated the young people’s individual care plans. The plans now clearly provide guidance for staff on how young people’s identified and emerging needs will be met. This improvement supports staff to provide consistent good quality care. It is particularly important currently due to the use of agency staff at the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers have worked with their telephone provider to develop a safe system for the young people to use. Phone cards are provided to each young person which contains their family contacts, where appropriate, social workers, helpline numbers, including Ofsted’s, and the number of the children’s home. These can be use both in the home and in the community. The home is billed for calls made. This development means young people are able to access a telephone in the home without redress to staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The leaders and manager of the home are still not consistently challenging placing authorities where they feel the authority is not fulfilling its duty of care. This relates to the placing authority or their representative carrying out return home interviews on two occasions for young people after they have been missing from care.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The independent visitor reports are not being sent to Her Majesty’s Chef Inspector (HMCI) in a timely manner as required. HMCI has not received independent visitor’s forms for August, September, October, November or December2015. Therefore it has not been possible to ascertain an external, independent perspective or to check the previous requirement concerning consultation with parents and social workers. A new independent visitor has been recently appointed. They have carried out visits in January and February of this year. These reports have been received by HMCI and evidence feedback being sought from social workers and parents.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager left the home in December 2016. A new manager has recently been appointed; they are in the process of submitting a registration application to Ofsted.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Currently there are a number of the organisations sessional staff as well as agency staff are being used to fill staffing gaps. Leaders and managers are trying to minimise the impact on the young people by using a limited number of people. Rotas do not consistently or clearly state who is actually on duty. In addition the homes statement of purpose notes that agency staff on shift ‘will not exceed half of the staff on duty at any one time’. This has not been adhered to in practice. On two occasions 19/01/16 and 28/03/16 these ratios were exceeded.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff shortages are partly due to ongoing investigations into staff practices. Leaders and managers have taken very swift responses to concerns regarding staff practices and have informed and consulted with the relevant external agencies.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Restraint logs do not consistently record all the required information. In one record staff used vague language to describe the young person’s behaviour leading up to the restraint. This does not provide sufficient information to be able to effectively monitor restraint. On three occasions there was no evidence of a de brief with the young person after a restraint. There were two further incidents where a de brief was carried out but this was by the member of staff involved in the restraint. This is not appropriate.

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home is registered to accommodate four young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is owned by a private organisation that also operates other children’s homes and a registered school in the locality.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

19/08/2015 CH - Full Requires improvement

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Recent inspection history

17/02/2014 CH - Interim Inadequate Progress

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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;

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that in particular, the standard in paragraph requires the registered person to 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; ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child. In particular leader and manager need to ensure that the number of agency staff on duty does exceed half of the staff on duty as stated in the homes statement of purpose. Leaders and managers eliminate the need for agency staff as for as possible.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13(1)(2(a, b, c, d, e)) 30/06/2016

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records;

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must 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 details of the child's behaviour leading to the use of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person") has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. In particular language used to describe the behaviours lead to the use of restraint need to be clear and de briefs with the young person need to be carried out by someone not involved in the restraint. 13/05/2016 (Regulation 35(3(a(ii)(b(i, ii)(c(i))

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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. A copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of the actual rosters worked. Regulation 37 (1(2(a, b)(Schedule 4(3)) 13/05/2016

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports;

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children's home at least once each month and if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person's report to HMCI. In particular this should include young people's social workers. (Regulation 44 (2(a)(7(a)) 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 when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, that the responsible local authority provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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

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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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